True Love, Take Two
by PrettyInPink85
Summary: The group on the JR is split up into groups, and Emma and Hook get put together. Emma is all about finding Henry and getting him home, but Hook is looking for something else... Emma's heart. Post-season finale. Don't hate on my story, it's my first ship-centered story, and yeah.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So yeah, I'm trying to write my first ship-centered story. Please don't hate me. I tried doing research, but everyone's story is different. If you have constructive criticism or something positive to say, I welcome it. Anything else, keep it to yourself please. **

**Unfortunately, I do not own OUAT... **

True Love, Take Two

Chapter 1

"Emma? Honey, are you okay?" Mary-Margaret asked as Emma stared up at the ceiling of her cabin on the _Jolly Roger_.

"What do you think?" Emma mumbled to the ceiling, and Mary-Margaret's face fell. "My son was kidnapped by two people who should be deemed mentally insane, I'm going to Neverland – where you can supposedly never leave – on a ship headed by a guy, who less than twenty four hours ago was willing to kill us. I feel sea sick, I can't do anything, and I'm up half the night every night worrying about Henry. I'm just _peachy_." Emma replied, her voice barely heard.

To be honest, Emma _hated _life on the _Jolly Roger,_ but not for most of the reasons she'd mentioned. For the first time in her recent life, Emma wasn't of any use to anybody. Give her a gun and a criminal to chase, and she was good as gold. But here, in the middle of the ocean on a boat where there was nowhere to run to, she was useless. She couldn't hoist a sail, she couldn't even stand up, and her son was in the hands of someone even Gold was scared of.

"Do you think that _I'm _not worried about Henry, too?" Mary-Margaret asked. "But I know that worrying about your child isn't going to make them come back to you any faster. How do you think I felt when you went through the wardrobe?"

"You didn't have much time to dwell on it." Emma muttered, louder than she thought. Mary-Margaret heard it. Even though she knew what Emma was going through, she also knew that no amount of comforting words would stop it, or even put it at bay. When a mother's child is missing, the worst case scenario flashes through the mother's head pretty quickly.

"Can I just be alone, Mom?" Emma asked. Mary-Margaret nodded and silently left the cabin, the door swinging shut behind her.

Emma sat there in the silence for a minute, just listening. Then she heard her mother's voice again, this time somewhat muffled by distance.

"David, there's nothing we can do." Mary-Margaret said.

"There has to be _something_. She can't stay in there forever!" David exclaimed.

"No, she can't. But she has to come out on her own. We can't exactly pull her out of bed, now can we? Emma isn't a little girl. We missed out on that." Mary-Margaret countered. Emma breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes her mother could be too emotional for Emma's liking, but other times she could be a lifesaver.

Emma just rolled over and another knock came on her cabin door. Couldn't everyone just leave her alone?

Whoever knocked on her door already made themselves at home, so Emma turned to look at them. It was Captain Hook. Great. Just what she needed now; smartass remarks and that stupid smirk.

"What?" Emma groaned.

"Morning to you, too,sunshine." Hook said. "I thought you might want to know that Neverland's on the horizon."

"Until I can see Henry on Neverland, I don't really want to see it." Emma said.

"You've got to stop sulking, love." Hook said, and picked up a strand of Emma's hair and played with it for a second before dropping it. "It's not a good color on you."

"My name's Emma. Say it with me. Em_-ma_." Emma sighed. "I'm not your _love_."

"That could change quickly, lass." Hook smirked. A flame of anger rose in Emma, and she took a deep breath and counted to ten before responding to prevent saying something stupid enough to make her walk the plank.

"Not any day soon." Emma responded.

"Well, we _are _in Neverland." Hook pointed out. "I have a lot of time to wait."

"Why did you really come here, Hook?" Emma demanded. Her little lie detector was lighting up.

"Swan, you can't sulk in here forever. You know that, right?" Hook said. Emma rolled her eyes.

"I get sea sick." Emma attempted weakly. "I can't walk on the deck."

"Because you haven't _tried_ to walk on the deck." Hook said, and held out his hand. "Come on, hold my hand. If the boat hits a big wave and you fall over, I'll catch you." That smirk again. Emma wanted to smack it off his face. But she did suddenly have the urge to see Neverland.

_Let's see Henry's prison_. Emma thought as she pushed herself up off the bed. She pushed Hook's hand away and stood up, and the boat decided to tilt at that exact second. Gravity did its stupid gravity thing and Emma fell backwards, right into – _you guessed it _– Hook.

"Well, Swan, _this _is unexpected." Hook laughed and locked his arms around Emma's body. Meanwhile, she was shooting him a death glare, but Hook didn't really notice. It was the first time that Emma noticed how warm Hook was.

"Didn't I tell you to just hold my hand?" Hook whispered in Emma's ear. She pushed out of his embrace and briskly paced out onto deck. There, on the horizon, she could see the rise of an island. Emma assumed it was Neverland. She was looking at when suddenly the boat pitched again, and the water-stained wood of the deck rose up to meet her. She regained her balance, stood up and glanced at Hook behind her as a horrifying revelation hit her.

"If you're here, who's steering the ship?" Emma inquired.

"The prince. Turns out the sea _isn't _in his blood." Hook chuckled. Emma turned around to stare at her dad, who actually looked ecstatic to be at the helm. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Are you trying to kill us all?" Emma joked, and smiled for the first time in days. Emma didn't know what about Hook did this to her. Sometimes he could be incredibly annoying and stupid, but sometimes he could make the world a little brighter from Emma's eyes, at least.

A few hours later, Emma leaned her elbows upon the side railings of the _Jolly Roger_. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The simultaneous scents of the ocean and cool, fresh air tickled her nostrils, soothing her and making it almost seem like home. Even though she didn't expect relaxation from this, she continued to inhale and exhale as though it was her first time breathing, continuing to relieve herself of the day's events and lessen the worry about her son in this new, strange land. The stars seemed so much brighter than they were in Emma's world, and they were much more beautiful. If she hadn't been coming here to find and rescue her son – quite a stressful situation - , she might've actually been enjoying herself. Emma knew that she couldn't change anything, so she became completely dedicated to her purpose: to find Henry and bring him home.

She twisted her head slightly to the left and surveyed the captain of the ship. Hook was perched on the quarterdeck, hook on the wheel, hand on a map, and eye peeping through a telescope. It surprised Emma to see how calm he looked, how pleasant his disposition had become as he had begun to sail his ship. Most of what she had seen of him from the past was darkness and deception and get his revenge on Rumplestiltskin, to see his life's purpose, his one goal, fulfilled. And yet, who would have known that he still possessed such a boyish side to him - a side that Emma found herself longing to see more of?

"Are you going to stare at me all night, Swan, or are you going to get some rest like others?" Hook placed the telescope on the ledge in front of him, then regarded the peering woman below him for a response. He stopped steering the ship. There weren't any real waves that could get them anywhere on the Neverland see at night, and the wind was dead as a doornail. Emma blinked a few times, as though being awoken from a dream, and quickly shook her head. "No. Can't sleep."

"Something we have in common, love." Hook said, gazing out over the sea to the distant shape of the island.

"I doubt we have that much in common, and I'm not your _love_." Emma said, half-asleep. Hook wasn't very surprised. She'd said the last part of that statement so often recently that she probably could say it in a coma.

"We have more in common than you might think, Swan." Hook said, glancing down at Emma for half a second.

"Like what?" Emma inquired. As much as she hated it, she wanted to see what that handsome bastard could come up at this hour. Oh, crap. Did she just call him handsome?

"Let's see… We both didn't have parents, we both know how to survive forever on our own, both of us can put up a pretty hard fight, need I go on?" Hook rambled, and Emma shoved him. He staggered about half a step to the side. It's a good thing the sea in Neverland was still at night.

"Hook, you don't know _anything _about me." Emma said.

"Sadly, lass, we sing the same tragic song. Alone all our lives, every day. We get one person to have, what you call a _true _love. I had my Milah, and you had your… Neal. I know more about you than you'd like to admit." Hook replied. Hook wouldn't admit it, but he knew in his heart that he was starting to doubt that theory.

"He wasn't _my _Neal. He was Neal, and he's gone now." Emma snapped. She just felt like all the strings inside of her were fraying, and Neal falling through that portal… it cut through the last string like a knife. Telling Henry was one thing, but she had to stay strong for him. There was something different about saying it this time. That Neal was dead. She wasn't admitting to Hook as much as she was admitting it to herself. Before Emma knew it, she was crying silently. Not the big, childish sobs that one associates with grieving, but the single tears.

Emma was like a rock, and every so often that rock sprung a leak.

"God, I'm just so stupid. I could've held the both of us and he didn't have to go through that portal." Emma said to no one between tears. She hadn't even meant to say it out loud, just to think it.

"If I may put in my two cents." Hook said from next to Emma. He put his finger on her chin, tilting it up to look at him. "Swan you're anything _but_ stupid. No other lass I've met has ever fought me, let alone won while swinging a sword like a club. Anyone who tells you that you're stupid has never seen you climb a beanstalk, outwit a giant, and cheat death in almost every way imaginable. You were never _stupid_, love, and you never will be."

And then Emma just stared into Hook's eyes, wiping away her own tears. Staring into his almost-too-perfectly-blue eyes, Emma felt something stirring within her. It was like a warmth, that started at the pit of her stomach and worked its way all around her body, ending with her cheeks.

_Thank God it's dark out_. Emma thought. _I don't even _want_ to know how red I am right now._

"Thanks." Emma managed to whisper. Then they just stared at each other for a second, and it felt like he was looking at her with the intensity of a hundred white-hot suns. Surprisingly, Emma didn't care. She didn't shrink back, she didn't put her guard up. For half a second, Hook penetrated the walls that had so carefully kept her safe all these years. Would he be the one to bring them down?

And then it happened. Hook kissed her.

His lips were pressed on her lips, but not too much pressure. There was a spark, an undeniable, bright spark. He put his hand on Emma's back, pulling her closer. It only took a moment until she realized that she wasn't pulling away as she had done so many times before. Because she didn't _want _to. She wasn't the Emma Swan that she was in Storybrooke, Maine. Neverland had made her feel younger, more full of hope.

After that second, Hook pulled away and that was it. Kissing underneath the moonlight, on a boat out at sea. It didn't get much more romantic than that. Until Emma heard someone clear their throat. Except that it wasn't Hook or her. She turned in the direction of the sound to see her father standing in the doorway to his cabin, watching them.

_Oh, God. No_. Emma thought in despair as she wished for nothing more than to just disappear into thin air. To become invisible. Yeah, that's what she wanted to do.

"I-I'm gonna go to bed." Emma stammered as she quickly tried to retreat to her cabin, but David grabbed her arm as she went past.

"Not quite." David said as he gave his daughter that steely glare that sent a shiver down Emma's spine. It's just _that look _when you know you're in trouble without anyone having to tell you. As much as she loved having parents, she missed not getting _that look_, especially now. "Care to explain?"

"Can't you tell?" Hook called from further away on the deck. "She was just _begging _for me."

"Stop. Helping!" Emma called over her shoulder, and then turned back to her dad. "Look, I'm not really sure what happened. We were just talking."

David gave a look that clearly said: _Uh-huh. Sure. Go on_.

"Do you really think _I _know what's going on?" Emma tried to explain. "I don't know. Something about this place… it makes me feel – almost – younger. Like I didn't grow up. Like I'm still seventeen – or something."

"That's part of the magic of Neverland, love. Makes you feel younger, so you stay younger. Have younger impulses." Hook cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

"I really think you should shut up, because there aren't many targets here at sea, and my trigger finger is dangerously close to firing on sight." David threatened. Hook just shrugged. Hook knew for a fact that David didn't _have _a gun. Mary-Margaret took it away from him and Emma, and when they weren't looking she threw them overboard.

"As for _you_," David said. "you can go to your cabin, young lady. And stay there."

_God. _Emma thought in disbelief. _I'm 28 and grounded._

Emma sulked off to her cabin, and sat on her bed. But she didn't go to sleep. How could she sleep after that? She kept replaying the kiss in her mind, the way Hook looked at her. Even Neal didn't look at her that way when they were together, and it was nice. To look into someone's eyes and know that they knew exactly what you felt like at any given second. She went back to Granny's diner, where they were fighting over the bean.

_"You and I, we understand each other." _She had said. Maybe it was in desperation to get the bean and save the town, but Emma had no idea how true the statement was at the time. Words just flew out of her mouth, like they had wings or something. As Emma sat on her bed, reflecting on those words, she smiled. Maybe all that Hook needed was someone who understood him.

Emma laid down on her bed, and instead of the rocking of the boat turning her stomach like it had before, she felt as if she was in a cradle, being rocked back and forth gently, being lulled to sleep. Just as she slipped out of consciousness, she remembered something.

_His name isn't Hook. _She reminded herself. _It's Killian._

**A/N: Yeah, that's it. Did you guys like it? Leave a review so I know that people are actually reading this and I'm not posting this for nobody. I crave reviews. It helps me write, and it makes me feel happy. Please. Otherwise I won't keep writing! So, if a few of you would be so kind...(and actually make it thoughtful, please. Not just two words) Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm back by popular demand! This chapter is so mean to Henry it's not even funny. It was hard for me to write this. But I'm sure you'll all like it. This got so many more views than I actually thought it would, so I'll be trying to keep up with you guys. But I can only type so fast. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

The next day, Emma was up bright and early. For once, she didn't need the assistance of caffeine to help her heart to beat like she had every other day of her life. She had something else racing through her veins and making her feel like she could run a hundred miles. Except she had no idea what it was. Now, normally when Emma Swan encountered something foreign, she built another layer of concrete onto the wall that guarded her heart, but this was Neverland. All of the layers that she had built over the past ten years seemed to melt, and the world was a much brighter place.

Emma went to the starboard side of the ship, leaned her elbow on the railing, and in turn her cheek on her hand. Emma couldn't stop thinking about that kiss, no matter how hard she tried. She kept remembering the one small spark. She was subconsciously smiling.

The first person to see Emma was Mary-Margaret, and she walked right over.

"Good morning, Emma." Mary-Margaret said while stifling a yawn.

"Morning, Mom." Emma said. Mary-Margaret smiled. It was a rare occasion when Emma called her 'Mom', and Mary-Margaret cherished every single time. She may not have been 'Mom' for Emma for the first twenty eight years, but she was going to start making up for lost time.

"I see you're feeling better." Mary-Margaret prompted. "No more sea-sickness?"

"Nah." Emma replied, gazing out at Neverland. "I feel so much better."

Emma debated telling her mother about what happened last night with H-Killian. Maybe David had already told her, but probably not. When they shared the apartment in Storybrooke and it was just the two of them, Mary-Margaret and Emma talked all the time. But now things were much different. It was weird to not immediately tell Mary-Margaret, but she really didn't want to deal with another parent freaking out first thing in the morning. Emma rarely woke up feeling this good, why should she ruin the day?

"That's good." Mary-Margaret said. "You want to know something weird?"

Emma nodded, but Mary-Margaret just kept talking.

"When we got on this ship, I thought that we would be completely focused on finding Henry and going home. I didn't think it would take this long. Despite it being so messed up, I kind of _miss _Storybrooke." Mary-Margaret admitted. "I miss Red, and I miss the apartment. I also kind of miss coffee."

"Yeah, me too. I miss Storybrooke, but at the same time it's so different that I like it." Emma said. "I mean, look at _Neverland_. That's something I've only seen in animation."

"I guess." Mary-Margaret replied, but looked down at her feet. Her mind was far away. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Emma said.

"Did something happen last night that I missed? I mean, I woke up in the middle of the night to hear David almost screaming at someone, and when he walked back to his cabin he almost shook the wood under our feet. I feel like he was angry. But he's not up yet so I can't ask him. So I'm asking you, Emma, did something go wrong last night that would've set David off? Normally he's pretty calm, but…" Mary-Margaret trailed off, obviously unsure of what to say.

Emma's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't going to tell Mary-Margaret, she had already made up her mind. But, wow, Mary-Margaret _did _know David well.

"Um… I-I-I don't think so." Emma stuttered, trying to keep her voice in check. For priding herself of spotting a liar, she sure wasn't such of a good one.

"Okay. I'll just go ask David what was wrong when he wakes up. He probably just went for a walk around the deck or something, and I must've imagined him screaming." Mary-Margaret reassured herself and yawned again. Sheesh, she _did _need coffee.

Now it was just a waiting game of how long it would be until David told Mary-Margaret and she knew, and when they would come to an agreed punishment. Probably, it would be back in their land after Henry was safe, but it was still a punishment none the less.

"Mom, how long did you sleep after you woke up in the middle of the night?" Emma asked.

"Oh, I couldn't get back to sleep." Mary-Margaret said.

"Go get some sleep. Some wave is going to come and knock you overboard and that would suck for everyone. Go." Emma persuaded her mother, looking into her bloodshot eyes. She must've been _really _tired, because Mary-Margaret never crumbled this easily. It took at least three tries normally.

Mary-Margaret stumbled back to her cabin, too exhausted to even walk correctly. Emma wondered what kept her mother up at night. Was it nightmares from before the curse, of something bad happening to Emma and David? Was she really worried about what was wrong with David?

She gazed out at Neverland one more time, just reveling in what it felt like to feel this young again. She felt like she could do anything.

"So touching, love." Killian's voice echoed from behind her. "I imagine you don't get many mother-daughter moments like that."

"Speaking of sleep: do you ever get any?" Emma asked, hoping he would leave her alone.

"No. Don't need it. Captaining is a 24/7 kind of job." Killian said. "Plus the prince kept me up half the night yelling at me. He said something along the lines of: Get close to my daughter again and I'm pushing you through the next available portal."

Emma sighed.

"Yeah. What was all of _that _about anyway?" Emma asked, pointing at Killian and then herself and then repeating to refer to _that_.

"I know you have a thing with lies, so I tried something new." Hook said. "I call it honesty."

"You really feel that way?" Emma asked, shocked. "About me?"

"Well, you know if I was lying, Swan." Hook said. He commenced sailing the ship, and walked back to the helm. The wind was coming from the ocean to the island, so they had the tailwind to propel them forward. Maybe if they made good headway today, they could make it to Neverland's shore by tomorrow.

She saw Regina coming out of her cabin, and she also looked like she hadn't slept at all last night. Come to think of it, Regina had barely been sleeping for the entire trip. If she was having nightmares that were anything like Emma's, Emma could understand why Regina didn't sleep. All Emma dreamed about was Henry, and the horrible things that Tamara and Greg could possibly do to him. These ranged from torture to drowning Henry, to just killing him on the spot. Most of those dreams involved Emma waking up in a cold sweat.

"Emma." Regina regarded her, obviously trying to be civil.

"Regina." Emma said back. If anyone has ever been on a boat with someone you hate, you'll know how hard it is to keep your cool. Emma has mostly succeeded by avoiding Regina at all costs.

"Where do you think Henry is?" Regina asked.

"I have no idea. And it's killing me." Emma admitted. Henry was the one thing that brought them together and forced them to kind of get along and not make the town fall apart with their fighting.

"I feel like if he's gone, then he'll die thinking we abandoned him." Regina said with tears in her eyes. Regina may have prepared herself for the worst, but Emma refused to believe it. Greg and Tamara needed Henry for _something_, he couldn't be dead. It would be stupid on their part.

"He's not dead, I know that for sure. He can't be." Emma stated, and Regina looked at her like she was crazy.

"Even if he is alive, we can't get him out of here. Once you set foot on Neverland as a kid, you _can't _leave." Regina said.

"Are you saying we should just give up?" Emma asked in shock. "He is your son too, you know. You wouldn't leave him here."

"I'm not saying I want to, but we can leave without him. The magic keeps them there, blocking them from leaving. It's not possible. We need to get the beans." Regina said.

"God, you'd leave him." Emma blinked a couple times at Regina. "You would leave Henry?"

"We need the beans, Emma." Regina said, refusing to look Emma in the eye.

"I can't be near you right now after what you just said." Emma said. "That, coming from a mother? Henry thought you changed. I thought you changed for a minute. But you're going to leave him?"

"Emma, we don't have a choice. We _can't _leave with Henry." Regina said.

"Wow. Something _must _be wrong with you." Emma said, staring Regina dead in the eye, debating where to storm away to.

"I was just trying to prepare you for what _will _happen." Regina said. "I just thought you should know."

Regina stalked away, angry that Emma wouldn't just accept it. Emma couldn't. She'd given up Henry once already, and that was hard enough. She couldn't just abandon Henry in Neverland. That wasn't fair. Emma was suddenly reminded of why she swore to never be a mother like Regina.

A few hours later, Emma saw Mary-Margaret walking up and around the deck. It was around noon, so she had slept for six hours. It was better, but it still wasn't as much sleep as she could've, but it was better than nothing.

Emma looked around and didn't see David anywhere, so she was safe for- Oh, crap. David was standing at the doorway and Emma hadn't seen him, otherwise she would've intercepted Mary-Margaret before David could've gotten to her. David put out a hand to stop Mary-Margaret from going out on the deck, and Emma's heart sunk. She saw Mary-Margaret glance at her, confused, and back at David. She looked like she was trying to work it through in her head without much success.

Mary-Margaret gave Emma the universal sign for _get over here_.

As Emma walked across the deck, she wondered if it was too late to jump overboard. She met Mary-Margaret's very confused eyes. She took a deep breath.

"Come with me." Mary-Margaret said, and they both sat down on the bed in her cabin.

"Um…" Emma said. Emma didn't get nervous a lot, but this made her nervous.

"Just like old times, right?" Mary-Margaret tried to relate to Emma, but Emma only stood there. "I miss sharing an apartment."

"So you've said." Emma said, trying to prolong the amount of time until she would have to admit to anything. She knew her legal rights… But did they even work in Neverland? The right to remain silent never seemed to apply with parents anyway.

"We used to talk all the time, remember?" Mary-Margaret reminisced. Emma nodded. "So, your Dad is freaking out about whatever happened with you last night. I don't get it. He's just really protective. It's just a kiss. But why Hook?"

"I don't know." Emma sighed, knowing that she couldn't prevent this any longer. "It was just a little thing. I don't know!"

"Do you think you love him?" Mary-Margaret asked. Emma shrugged. The thought of loving Killian filled Emma with ice-cold fear. She was done with loving people. They always left her behind. How many times could she get slammed onto the ground until she broke into a million pieces?

"I know this whole 'true love' thing is kind of your field of interest, so I'm going to ask you." Emma decided. She didn't know anything about love, but her mother was in true love. Hell, why not? "What do you think?"

"Well, I think what you said back in Granny's is true. You two do understand each other. And maybe that let him into that stupid wall that you block everyone out with." Mary-Margaret said.

Emma looked at her incredulously. She remembered the exhilarating feeling that she had when she woke up this morning. She remembered the spark that she felt when their lips touched, and she hadn't even noticed that she was smiling.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Mary-Margaret noticed the smile. Emma made it disappear before it became too obvious. "Red used to point out the same thing to me. We'd be hiding the woods as Regina's knights walked past, and Red would nudge me when I was smiling. She knew I was thinking about David. And you're thinking about Hook, aren't you?"

"No." Emma lied.

"You are a horrible liar sometimes, Emma." Mary-Margaret said and laughed. "How about I make you a deal?"

"Those words never get me any good when they come from Gold…" Emma said.

"Yeah, but I'm _not _insane and power-crazy." Mary-Margaret pointed out. "How about I don't tell your father about this and you promise me that you won't do anything stupid?"

"I can live with that." Emma said. She didn't plan on doing anything stupid. Not with Killian. Plus, she _really _didn't want her father's wrath coming down on her. Emma assumed that this was what it was like to be a teenager with parents.

"Good. I'll just tell David that you didn't say anything, okay?" Mary-Margaret said. Emma nodded, thankful to her mom for being a live-saver again.

They walked out of the cabin, and David was standing there like he was waiting for the very second that we came out. Emma decided to take the _exasperated teenager _move and push past her father without even looking. She was walking away and she heard the conversation that her parents were having.

"I don't know, David. Our daughter is a rock." Mary-Margaret said, probably against her better judgment. Emma knew that she hated lying, but she smiled in relief. She wondered if the gene for lying well skipped a generation, and that's why she could detect lies so well.

The wind had really picked up since Emma went inside, and at this rate they could make it to Neverland by the end of the day. She could almost see Henry. Even if Regina thought that Henry couldn't go through a portal, Emma wouldn't give in to that stupid notion. Neal was here as a kid, and he got out. So there had to be some way. And Emma thought she knew where to find that way.

"Hook!" Emma exclaimed, making her way up to the helm. "I have a question. About Neverland."

"Go ahead, lass." Killian said, concentrating on steering the ship at the same time.

"Neal was here a long time ago. You know that. Regina told me that once a kid gets to Neverland, they can't leave, even through a portal. But Neal left and got to my world somehow. How does that work?" Emma inquired, trying to ignore the way his chin was slightly tilted up, the lighting on his jawline perfect.

"That is a very complicated answer. And I'm not sure you want to hear it, love." Killian answered.

"He is my kid that we're trying to get home. Of course I want to know! Why wouldn't I?" Emma asked.

"Because you can't do anything to help get him to your land." Killian replied, taking his eyes off the ocean for a minute to look into Emma's.

"There has to be something I can do!" Emma exclaimed, her breath growing shallow. If she couldn't save Henry, what would happen to him?

"I'm sure you're well aware of the mermaids." Killian answered. _Mermaids? _Emma thought in disbelief. "And the only thing that they hate is a pretty woman. I'm afraid you'd send them into a jealous rage. You'd never get them to help your son."

Emma blushed at the compliment but kept talking.

"What do the mermaids have to do with anything?" Emma inquired.

"Well, the ocean is the only place that the Shadow – most likely who has Henry – can't get to. The only way out of Neverland for a child is to convince a mermaid to help him. The mermaid would swim the child through a portal, and they would be gone from Neverland." Killian explained. Emma sighed. There really wasn't anything she could do. She needed the freaking mermaids to swim Henry through a portal.

"But they'd be more than willing to help you?" Emma guessed from Killian's smirk.

"You guess right, Swan. But they can't see you. That would ruin the whole thing." Killian reiterated, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Is this some twisted way of you telling me I'm pretty?" Emma asked.

"I'll say it again. You guess correctly, love." Killian replied, that stupid smirk never leaving his face.

**A/N: So, what did you think? My favorite part was to write about Mary-Margaret and Emma. It's just so fun to actually make them have mother-daughter moments like that... Anyway, you guys reviewed last time, so KEEP IT UP! (btw since it's memorial day tomorrow, I've decided to give my computer a rest, and that means that you guys will NOT have a new chapter tomorrow! Please don't hate me! It's for the family!) Have a nice memorial day! **


	3. Chapter 3

**LUCKY YOU! I just happened to finish my homework and type up this. I know I told you no chapter today, but hey... it'll be a good thing to wake up to tomorrow! I hope that's it's not too bad. I tried, guys, I really tried. But... life. I HAVE THREE PROJECTS!**

Chapter 3

The next day, they hit Neverland's shore.

The boat shuddered to a halt that was the equivalent of a small earthquake and Killian said: "I guess that means we're here."

They all climbed off the ship, Emma first and Killian last. Emma couldn't wait to feel the ground again, but Killian couldn't seem to leave the sea behind. When everyone was off the boat, Emma had already formulated a plan. The island was too big for them all to cover as one big group, but maybe if they split up they would have a chance to find Henry.

The groups would be: Regina and Gold, Mary-Margaret and David, and Emma and… Killian. Maybe it wasn't smart to put the two most powerful, crazy people together, but maybe their crazy would cancel each other's out. Maybe Gold would keep Regina from destroying Neverland. She knew that if David and Mary-Margaret weren't together both of them would do nothing but worry. And that left Emma and Killian by process of elimination. This should be interesting.

The group gathered on the beach, all of them looking around and trying to get their bearings. Emma looked inland and saw a rising mountain surrounded by forests. The top of the mountain looked almost completely inaccessible, considering that it was a sheer, grey cliff that seemed to not have any hand holds. Then again, she was really far away. But still, how could Henry be there?

Emma disregarded the mountain peak and focused more on the forests. If Henry was on this island, then he would most likely be somewhere in the woods. He'd run away before, he was a smart kid. He had somehow gotten dynamite without anyone noticing; Emma was willing to bet that he could survive in the forest if he escaped the shadow.

"Everyone ready to go?" Mary-Margaret called, which was met with five nods.

"I say that we should go north, find water before we do anything else." Mary-Margaret suggested. It sounded like a good idea to Emma, but Killian shook his head.

"There's no water up north. Neverland is strange, not exactly made for survival." Killian said. "Even though all the water flows downhill, there's no water at the top that would start out the streams. They just seem to be there for decoration almost. Never drink the water. It's laced with magic that makes you fall asleep and then you're killed by whatever finds you first."

"Well, what do _you _suggest we do? We need water at some point." Emma pointed out.

"The sea _is _fresh water. There's not one hint of salt, just smells like it. Perfectly drinkable." Hook countered, and Emma walked back out to the shallows and cupped some of it in her hand. She put it to her lips and discovered, to her dismay, that Killian was correct. Emma walked back and shared the results.

"So, you're saying we should go all desert island and stay on the beach while Henry is probably further inland." Emma clarified while trying not to lose it, and Killian nodded.

"I'm suggesting we stay alive." Killian rephrased. There was silence so thick that you could cut it with a machete and you could hear a pin drop in the sand. They stared into each other's eyes so intensely that it felt like something was about to explode.

"Water bottles." David piped up from behind, breaking the silence and causing everyone to stare at him.

"We don't have any." Emma said, breaking Killian's gaze.

"Ah, but we do have watertight sacks, lass." Killian suggested.

"I'm not even going to ask." Emma surrendered. "Just go get them."

Killian climbed into the ship, got six of them and tossed them out on the beach.

"They're for keeping the treasure that we sink in the ocean from getting ruined." Killian said. "Where better to hide gold than at the bottom of the ocean?"

"You're insane." Was all Emma said before taking her "water bottle" and filling it up from the sea. Everyone followed her example, and soon they were all standing around again.

"Now that we don't have to pretend that we're on _Gillian's Island_, can we please get going?" Regina asked. "This place is huge. It's going to take days to do anything."

"Actually." Emma interjected. "I suggest we split up. We'll be able to cover more ground quickly, and one of us might find Henry. In four days, we'll meet back here."

"You really thought this through, didn't you?" Killian asked. Emma nodded.

"I want to find Henry, make sure he's okay and go home." Emma stated.

"Amen to going home." Regina muttered. For once, they agreed on something. "Who's with who?"

"Regina and Gold, Mary-Margaret and David, and Hook and I." Emma said, and then saw Killian's smirk. "Let's get going."

Before they left the beach, Mary-Margaret enveloped Emma in a huge hug. "Please come back." Mary-Margaret said, almost in tears. She was really terrified of losing Emma, and that struck a chord. Maybe someone besides Henry _did _need her. "Also, remember what you promised me." Mary-Margaret whispered. Emma nodded almost unperceivably. Anyone watching wouldn't know, but Mary-Margaret could feel it.

David hugged her next, staring her in the eye so intensely that she almost shrunk away.

"You and Hook?" David asked in a whisper.

"I'm twenty eight. I think I can take care of myself." Emma replied, but David seemed unconvinced. He hugged Emma goodbye.

She broke the hug, and Mary-Margaret and David walked off straight into the woods.

"Let's go." Emma said, marching off towards the woods.

"We can't go that way, first we have to find Mermaid Lagoon." Killian said. "It's down the beach a-ways." Killian

"Well, since the mermaids can't see me, why don't I go into the woods and look for Henry while _you _go convince the mermaids to help?" Emma suggested, and Killian shook his head.

"Thought we had to stay together as a group. Right, love?" Killian asked. Emma hated her own logic sometimes.

After walking down the beach in silence for somewhere around an hour, Emma started laughing hysterically. There was something stupidly familiar about having to stay in groups in a strange place.

"What are you laughing at, love?" Killian asked.

"Nothing." Emma said. "It's just that these groups kind of remind me of the buddy system we had in school."

"What the bloody hell is a _buddy system_?" Killian asked, and Emma glanced at him in shock.

"You never had the buddy system?" Emma asked in disbelief. "You know, at school?"

"School?" Killian asked, getting more confused with every passing second.

"That's right." Emma realized, the pieces snapping into place into her head. "You never went to school. Okay, so it's basically a place where you get a bunch of kids from the ages of five to eighteen, and they have to sit in desks, and learn stuff and it's most likely boring. Like, for an hour they'll learn writing, or reading or math or art. Even if you hate the classes, you have to take them. And there are these people called teachers who help you learn, and if you're unlucky, they never shut up and hate you and never answer your questions." Emma tried to explain.

"I thought you said child abuse was illegal in your land." Killian said.

"If you ask most high school girls, they'll say the same thing." Emma remembered her own experiences in school. She was never popular, but she didn't care. Didn't really need friends, she'd just be moved on to the next place soon enough to not make friends, but she'd stay there long enough to wish she had them. "What was it like for you? Growing up on a ship?"

"Well, love, you don't learn a lot of things like that. You figure out how to read maps, and read the stars, and the only use for numbers is longitude and latitude. And even then you can just try to figure it out yourself. You don't ask anyone for help, you don't _have _a teacher." Killian explained. To Emma, it sure sounded like it beat public school.

"Emma, you have to go into the woods now, but you have to walk away. Not far, just a few hundred feet." Killian said, all of the casual tone of his voice gone. There was no joking anymore. Just time to get down to business. Emma squinted through the trees to see one extremely blue circle of water that shown through a gap in the leaves. She could hear people laughing, and one singing.

"Okay." Emma said, silently drifting into the woods. She hid behind a tree and watched Killian push aside leaves to get into the lagoon. But her view was obstructed. Her plan was to watch it, and if anything happened to him, she would run in like a maniac and get him out of there.

Emma ran across a stretch of flat ground, and there was another tree with a better viewing point. It was by a reasonably sized hole in the foliage that surrounded the lagoon, and she could see Killian. Perfect.

Killian tapped the water, and one mermaid rose up from the depths of the lagoon. She had bright red hair, and it was extremely curly and somehow dry. She was pale, and had blue eyes. Emma didn't really care about that though, she just cared about how she was looking at Killian. A small flame of anger rose in Emma, and she wasn't exactly sure why. Killian was saying something that Emma couldn't decipher, but the mermaid just stared at Killian, definitely not listening to a word he was saying.

The mermaid grew serious, nodded once, brought her tail out of the water and slapped her fins against the surface. Another mermaid showed up and Redhead explained. The other mermaid grew serious, and nodded as well. Redhead dove back under, taking the other mermaid with her. Killian left the lagoon, and Emma let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. She snuck away from the tree and out of the forest, back to the beach where Killian was waiting.

"How did it go?" Emma asked anxiously. Her son's fate depended on this.

"Well. They've agreed to take Henry through. It's always good doing business with Ariel." Killian said.

"Ariel? Like _The Little Mermaid, _Ariel? Isn't she supposed to be in the ocean or something? Saving sailors?" Emma inquired. Ariel always stuck with her for some reason.

"Yes, but she was taken through a portal to Neverland some time ago. Wanted an adventure, probably. That's how most of them got here. Then they found the lagoon and never left." Killian explained. It made no sense to Emma, but not a lot of things made sense anymore.

Especially not Killian. Killian made the least sense in Emma's mind.

Killian and Emma trekked into the forest, not entirely sure what to look for. But as it got dark, the need for shelter became more hurried.

"Swan, come on. We should find somewhere before it gets dark. Lots of bad things come out on Neverland at night." Killian said, an edge to his voice.

"Like what?" Emma asked. Nothing had bothered them so far, and Neverland seemed almost like a paradise.

"The Lost Ones." Killian said. "They do their patrols at night, and we don't want to be captured by them. You'd never see your son again, I'll tell you that much."

"The lost boys? They'd hurt us?" Emma asked in disbelief. She remembered watching _Peter Pan _on a TV from God-Knows-When in one of her crappy foster homes. Emma remembered them marching through the tall grass in the animated Neverland, singing "We're off to fight the Indians, the Indians, the Indians". The lost boys didn't seem like they could hurt a fly if they wanted to.

"The Lost Ones are much different from the lost boys. The lost boys will hit you with an acorn or something, the Lost Ones will kill you." Killian explained. "The Lost Ones were changed at one point or another to make them work for the Shadow. They were lost boys once, but something did something to them. No one really knows for sure. But whatever it is turns them ruthless."

"That sounds cheery. They didn't warn us about this in the movie." Emma muttered the part about the movie.

"Will a cave do for the princess?" Killian asked. Emma flinched at the word "princess". Killian knew she hated it. It just sounded like glass. Fraile, breakable… nothing like Emma.

"Yeah, it'll be fine." Emma said as her stomach growled.

"Are you hungry?" Killian asked.

"A little." Emma admitted. "I'm not used to hiking for an entire day."

"Well, lucky for you I know which berries you can eat here." Killian threw a sack at Emma. It was full of berries that were blood-red and so plump that they were dripping with juice. Emma took one and popped it into her mouth. Emma had no idea what kind of berry this was, but she wished that they grew in Storybrook.

After eating her fill of Heaven berries, Emma remembered something that she used to do when she was young. She'd look at the stars in the backyard of what foster home she was in. No matter what state she was in, the stars were always the same even if the family wasn't.

Neverland didn't have the same stars as Emma's world, so it was like a brand new adventure. She was searching for constellations, but couldn't find anything that remotely familiar.

_Maybe that's the point_. Emma thought. The point of coming to Neverland may be to find Henry, but maybe she could change. _Maybe I can change_. Emma thought. Four words that Emma never thought she'd think.

Emma saw a clump of stars of that looked remotely like a bird, the one that was two curved lines that came together at the middle.

"It's kind of a bird." Emma thought out loud, and Killian was shaken out of whatever though he was thinking and turned to look at Emma.

"I wouldn't guess you were a stargazer, Swan." Killian said. "And if what you're seeing is a _bird_, you need a pair of glasses."

"What? That _is _a – what is it to you?" Emma challenged.

"Well, what you are calling a bird, I say is a hunter." Killian said. Emma just rolled her eyes and laughed. A hunter? Seriously? _That _is a bird.

"We have a hunter constellation back home, and it is _nothing _like that." Emma tried to compare the two constellations in her head. "You can always tell where it is because of the three stars that make up the belt. They're impossible to miss."

"Your land is full of strange things, lass. I don't see how you can make sense of anything." Killian said.

"I don't." Emma responded. "Where do you see this hunter where my bird is?"

Killian pointed to a star that was a little far away from the right wing of the bird, and drew a line. It was more like a stick figure, but Emma could see if she kind of turned her head to the side.

"It doesn't make much of a difference, it's still a bird to me." Emma held her ground, and Killian rolled his eyes.

"Agree to disagree." Killian responded. Being around him was just so natural for Emma that it was almost second-nature. Emma felt safer, let her walls down a little bit more and more for every moment she spent she spent with Killian. He isn't all that bad of a person, it's just that he chose his career as a pirate. And that gave people the wrong idea.

"You're going to hate me for asking this, but why me?" Emma asked, still staring up at the stars. She couldn't take her eyes off the bird/hunter.

"Lots of reasons, love. But you already said the answer to that question back in the dinner in Storybrook. I've never once met someone who understood me, but then there's you." Killian explained. Emma wondered why he wasn't like this in front of the rest of the group, maybe they wouldn't hate him as much.

"What about me? Didn't Neal warn you? I'm baggage." Emma said in monotone.

"I'm not particularly fond of listening to Neal, and he never controlled my opinion on anything. He's not controlling my opinion on you, love." Killian said. The rest of the night was spent in silence until Killian feel asleep, but Emma didn't. She just listened to him breathing, failing to sleep. She tossed and turned, going over everything that had just happened. Despite her trying to block him out, some the wall around her heart seemed to crumble without her consent. It just happened. A lot of things seemed to be _just happening _to Emma. It was kind of suspicious. Now, normally Emma is the most skeptical person in the room, but Neverland made her feel younger, like some of the scars on her heart hadn't happened. Now, she was like a seventeen year old kid, staring up at the stars.

And that was all she ever wanted to be sometimes.

**A/N: So? The last line is my personal favorite. There's just so many feels in that line! I can't even... Whatever. But do you guys like it? I mean, I like it... but I'm KIND OF biased. Tell me what you think in reviews! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! I've returned! I see that we're part of a community, so whoever put this there, thank you. It wasn't me because I have no idea how to do that... But anyway, here's the next installment!**

Chapter 4

The next morning, it took Emma longer than normal to wake up. She had to keep her eyes shut and concentrate on nothing while she regained enough energy to _open her eyes_. Maybe Mary-Margaret wasn't the one suffering from caffeine withdrawal.

"Come on, Swan. Wasting time." Killian said, shaking Emma. Emma just groaned and rolled over.

"Wake me up when I don't feel like it's impossible to move, okay?" Emma swatted away his hand. Strangely, she had enough energy for that. Then again, she always had time for self-defense.

"I didn't want to do this, but you've forced my hand. No pun intended." Killian said fake dramatically, and then picked up and slung over his shoulder like a ragdoll. Emma went into survival mode, her heart rate kicking up like the speed on a rollercoaster decline.

"Put. Me. Down!" Emma exclaimed, emphasizing each word with a pound to Killian's back. She pounded her fists on his back and flailed her legs around, hoping to make contact on his face or something. Unfortunately, no such thing did happen, she could almost see him smirking.

"If I do, will you promise to not curl up into a ball and fall asleep again?" She heard Killian ask.

"Fine." Emma gritted her teeth and answered. Let it be stated that you should only talk to anti-coffee Emma Swan in the morning if you have a death wish. Emma tried to jump off of Killian's back and landed with an unharmonious _thump_! She blew a strand of blond hair out of her eyes, stood up and brushed herself off. Killian never broke stride.

"Where are we going now?" Emma asked, walking faster to catch up. She really didn't want to be left alone here.

"Well, you're the one that finds missing people for a living… You tell me." Killian suggested. What? He was asking for help? This was a first. Someone should write this down. Then, Emma realized something.

It hadn't ever occurred to Emma that even though Killian knew Neverland like the back of his hand, he had no idea what he was looking for. For one rare time, Emma was the one that was helping people instead of the one needing help. It was a nice change. Emma went over her basic training – that she taught herself – for finding a missing person.

"Well, it doesn't rain here, so footprints are out." Emma thought out loud. Okay, so basic training wasn't helping, time to try something more unorthodox. "If we had Ruby, we track his scent, but there is no Ruby…." Emma was almost completely out of ideas. She had one idea, but it was risky, and it was only used in the vaguest, most extreme cases. "We should just look for anything suspicious." Emma decided.

This method had gotten her into a lot of trouble in her land, prying into abandoned buildings just on probable cause or hope. It was dangerous, and it usually got her hurt. But this was Henry… Emma was willing to do anything.

"What qualifies as suspicious?" Killian asked while simultaneously poking his head inside a cave.

"Uh… Camouflaged doors, food wrappers, pieces of clothing caught on branches, all of that stuff." Emma explained, looking around and not noticing that Killian had actually gone _in _the cave.

"Does a scarf ring any bells?" Killian called. It took Emma a minute to locate him, but once she did she couldn't stop herself from racing to his side. She saw that Killian was holding Henry's scarf.

"That's Henry's." Emma stated, taking the scarf from Killian. "He's either here or he's close."

Emma also noticed that the cave didn't immediately end. It wasn't the shallow outcropping that she originally assumed it was.

"I'm going further in. Stay here." Emma announced, her voice bouncing around the cave walls. Not only did it serve as information, it helped Emma estimate how far back the cave went. The theory is that the further back the cave went, the sooner Emma should hear her voice. Unfortunately, Emma hadn't heard her voice for about three minutes, so that was to say that this cave was freaking huge.

"Swan, there's no way in bloody hell that I am going to let you go in a cave that's almost pitch black and go get yourself killed." Killian's serious tone suddenly lightened up to almost a joke. "What about the buddy system?"

Emma took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. She _was _building up immunity to this, but not fast enough.

"Okay, just come on. I have no idea how far back this cave goes and if it has any… previous tenants." Emma explained, suddenly becoming about ten times more alert. She was looking for something, anything related to her son.

They ventured deeper and deeper into the cave, until the mouth was just a small circle of light. The end of the cave was clear, and in the middle of the cave there was a circle of rocks with a hollow center. Emma knew what it was immediately. A fire circle. She reached down into the center and felt the fine black ash that signified recent habitation. The ash was still warm, still sizzling with heat. Emma could hear it. She wanted to jump up and down like a little kid in a candy store. She'd found Henry, even if he wasn't here at the minute. He'd have to come back eventually.

"Lass?" Killian called. "Something's wrong. There's something burning, and I can smell gunpowder."

Emma sniffed the air, and realized that there _was _a noticeable gunpowder scent, and she had been too excited to notice it before. The sizzling that Emma had associated with the heated ash sounded louder, and suddenly it had a new, urgent meaning. Emma realized something horrifying. There was a bomb set to go off, and she and Killian were standing directly in the blast zone.

She grabbed Killian's hand and started sprinting out of there as fast as she could.

**A/N: So... Do ya hate me yet? Yep, that's what I thought. How could I leave you with a cliffhanger like this? How could I not tell you if they get out alive or not? Like this.** **(Mwahahahaha)**


	5. Chapter 5

**So, I left you guys with a cliff hanger yesterday, and you all hated me. So I'm going to resolve that now. A lot of you are requesting for another "Protective Daddy Charming" chapter, and I will do that tomorrow. I'm working on it, I promise. But I have finals... next week. And I don't want to fail. Nothing personal, guys. Anyway, here is the next chapter! **

Chapter 5

"Swan, what are you doing?" Killian asked, sprinting behind a panicking Emma. Killian had never seen Emma in full on panic-mode before, but now he wished that he hadn't.

"Wegottagetouttahererightnow." Emma explained breathlessly, not daring to look back. She had no idea how long the fuse for the bomb was, but she was guessing that it wasn't very long. She clutched Henry's scarf poured on the speed. The mouth of the cave was one hundred fifty yards away. One hundred. Then Emma raced out of the cave, refusing to stop running. She would never stop running. White-hot adrenaline pumped through her veins like a liquid lightning strike, her survival instincts kicking in.

That's when she heard the blast.

The bomb went off, not only shaking the ground like a small earthquake, but completely obliterating the cave, leaving nothing but a crater and rock debris falling from the sky. She had to get out of the range of the rocks falling, immediately.

Killian was being more aware of his surroundings, trying to determine where the rocks would fall so he could avoid being there. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small boulder hurtling towards the ground, almost directly in front of Emma. If she kept up that speed, she could meet it when it fell.

"Swan! Watch out!" Killian called, dodging debris himself. Emma didn't hear him, though. She was too consumed with getting out of danger that she blocked out her surroundings and just ran. She was completely unaware.

"Emma!" Killian called louder, but he had no idea that she had gone into survival mode. He couldn't just let that rock crush Emma, not after everything. She had a life to go back to. She had to find her son. And there was no way that rock was going to stop it. All of these thoughts raced through Killian's head in a nanosecond, and he knew what he had to do.

Suddenly, Emma was on the ground, tackled by Killian. She realized that he was using himself as a human shield to protect her.

A huge piece of rock soared through the sky to land only six feet in front of Emma's face. It would've hit her in the back of the head if she was still running. A rock that size… it would've ended her. Emma pushed her face into the ground, not wanting to see anything else. She ignored when the earth beneath her shook with the shock of what was left of the cave hitting the ground at top speed. She squeezed her eyes shut.

_Go back to Storybrooke_. She told herself. _Imagine you're there. With Henry_.

It was a futile attempt to make Emma's head stop pounding and to make her stomach stop lurching into her throat, but it worked. She lost all sense of time.

When there was no more rock raining overhead, Killian stood up, and Emma followed suit quickly.

"Thanks." She said breathlessly, still trying to mentally comprehend what had just happened. A cave had been exploded and seemed to rain down on them with a vengeance. Not only that, but that Killian had saved her life.

"You're welcome." Killian said. "We're just lucky to be alive after that."

"Yeah." Emma agreed. "It was a trap, I don't know why I didn't see it before. Everything was too neat and perfectly laid out. Henry's scarf was at the entrance to draw us in. The fire circle was at the very back to get us to the very back of the cave where us escaping was a minimal chance. The ashes were still warm to trick us into thinking the fire was still dying and that way they could light the fuse and get out of there before they were blown to smithereens. We would've stayed there, and been killed. There was just enough gunpowder that you couldn't smell it if you weren't looking for it." Emma speculated, running her hands through her hair. She was so consumed with finding Henry that she forgot everything.

Henry. He was still out there, somewhere. Thank God he wasn't in that cave.

"We shouldn't have escaped. Normal people wouldn't have made it out in time." Emma said, for once thanking her lucky stars that she was a daughter of two fairytale characters.

"But we did." Killian pointed out, and Emma laughed.

"What can I say? We're _anything _but normal. You should know that more than anyone." Emma said.

"We make a good team." Killian said, and Emma thought he said it at first to fill the confused silence. But then she realized that he actually meant it.

"Yeah." Emma agreed, the reality of what they had just escaped hitting her. She smiled. "We really do."

"Whoever set that trap definitely has your son." Killian said. "If we can find them, then your son can't be far behind. They wouldn't let a valuable chess piece just slip away. If who has Henry is who I think they are, he'll be heavily guarded."

"Tamara and Greg?" Emma guessed. That was who had him last, but she was having her doubts. They seemed more important than pawns, but they were definitely working for someone. Tamara and Greg were more like rooks.

"No." Killian said. He started walking northeast, and Emma was right on his heels. "Tamara and Greg don't know this land as well as they know yours. They wouldn't know how to make a bomb like that because they wouldn't know where the resources were. Whoever has Henry has to know this place like the back of their hand, and they would be more than two people."

Something that Killian had mentioned on the Jolly Roger popped up in Emma's head, and she was almost afraid to say it.

"The Lost Ones, right?" She almost whispered, as if saying it too loudly would make it true. And Emma was hoping more than anything that this wasn't true.

"Probably." Killian affirmed, and she felt her heart sink.

"When you were last here, how many of them were there?" Emma asked, hoping to God for a low number. Three would be nice.

Killian got a preoccupied look on his face, like he was digging deep into his memories to find an exact estimate.

"Maybe… eighty to ninety." Killian replied, and Emma's eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

"Eighty… to ninety?" She repeated, and Killian gravely nodded his head. The world started spinning around her at the mere suggestion of that number. Eighty to ninety bloodthirsty, ruthless boys… against two of them? The odds of them winning were astronomically low. There was just no way. Unless any of the others had the same idea and joined up with Emma and Killian, they were going to lose for sure.

"And if we don't succeed, there is no way for us to leave Neverland because we'll never be allowed out of the base. We'll never get to the Jolly Roger again, let alone through a portal. If we try to escape, we'll probably be killed trying." Killian said, not one hint of humor in his voice. Emma had never seen him this serious about anything except getting his revenge for Milah, which was gone.

"In other words, we have to hope to God that they don't have Henry." Emma summarized.

"That's the positive way of looking at it." Killian replied.

Later that night, Emma was trying to fall asleep. Like the worried mother she was, though, she couldn't think of going to sleep. Henry was with ruthless pyscomaniacs that would probably kill him, for God's sake! Would anyone be able to sleep? Unable to match her breathing to Killian's she sat up and looked around. Killian said it was dangerous on Neverland at night, but she doubted it. There was nothing out there that could hurt her. Besides, if something _did _happen she would have to improvise. She was good at that.

Emma stood up and walked out of the small camp they had made. She had to walk around, get all of the worried energy out of her. She tramped through the jungle, trying to be quite but failing. It was so dark that she couldn't see her own hand two feet in front of her face. Emma was struggling with her balance and she heard something rustle in the brush. She disregarded it, and decided that maybe it was time to go back to the camp with Killian. Emma wasn't easily scared, but she had goose bumps and the hair on the back of her neck was standing up. Something was watching her. She could feel it.

Her blood turned to ice as she heard the rustling come closer. She broke into a run and tripped over a particularly thick vine. It was pulled taught, and Emma realized that it was a tripwire. It was so dark that she hadn't seen it. She feel into a pit that was about six feet deep, and the rustling gave way to footsteps pounding on the dirt. On instinct, Emma reached for her gun, only to find the holster empty.

Then Emma started to panic.

Where the hell was her gun? She was positive that it had been in the holster all trip, never leaving her side. She said she could improvise, but most of her plans involved shooting the living daylights out of whatever dared fome close to her. But now she was defenseless and stuck in a hole. She tried to jump and grip the edge of the hole, but she couldn't pull herself out. The edge just crumbled if there was too much weight on it.

Emma stopped thinking about how to get out of the trap, but who made it. Whoever made it had to at least be able to jump up six feet and land far enough away that it wouldn't collapse. A new thought struck Emma as she sat in the hole, waiting to come face-to-face with her captor.

_Or they'd have to fly_. Emma thought, trying not to laugh. Nothing could fly.

Then, Emma got her first hint at who's bested her.

"Boys! Over here!" A small voice called, and Emma was struck with shock. The owner of that voice couldn't be more than ten, maybe eleven. It wasn't Henry, but it was someone around his age. Emma refused to get her hopes up. She wouldn't hope that Henry was with them.

"Who's gonna check it out?" Another little boy's voice asked. "What if it's dangerous?"

"We should let the newbie do it!" A little boy exclaimed. These, Emma realized, were the lost boys.

"Fine." Emma heard a little boy faintly mutter. He wasn't loud enough for Emma to make out any detail. Then, Emma nearly had a heart attack.

Because Henry's face appeared in the hole above her.

She felt her heart swell with joy. Thank God Henry was okay. She almost couldn't contain herself she was so excited. He didn't look hurt from what Emma could see, and that meant more than all the lands combined to her.

"Henry!" Emma cried in relief. She smiled. "Kid, do me a favor and get your friends to let me outta here." Emma stretched out her hand, but Henry pulled back like she had the plague.

"We caught something… weird!" Henry exclaimed, completely ignoring Emma. What was going on? Didn't Henry recognize her? Emma _was _his mother. "It's talking to someone called 'Henry'. Henry finished, saying his own name like it was a foreign word.

"I don't know, Peter, maybe its crazy." A little boy said from outside the circle. "Maybe we should take it back with us."

_Peter? _Emma thought, trying to connect the pieces. She was in Neverland, and her son was being called Peter. Did… Did Henry think that he was _Peter Pan_?

"Yeah." Henry said, his face turned away. "Get the rope."

Suddenly, a rope was lowered down, and Emma grabbed it. She started running up the wall of her prison, and with the boys pulling she was out of the hole in no time. They surrounded her when she landed, and they all drew their slingshots. There were pebbles and acorns and sticks as ammo, and Emma was sincerely confused. Killian said that the lost boys were completely innocent. Were they attempting to take her prisoner? It was almost kind of funny. Emma rolled her eyes and put her hands up in an "I surrender" gesture, while trying her hardest not to laugh.

Henry marched up to her, and Emma strongly resisted the urge to hug him. He was so close to her, the closest that they'd been since he was kidnapped, but at the same time he was so far away. He was in another stratosphere, somehow convinced that he was Peter freaking Pan, and she was down on Earth, trying to stop herself from getting pelted with whatever the lost boys had in their slingshots.

"Who are you?" Henry asked. Emma so badly wanted to say everything. That she was his mother, that she was here to bring him back to their land, and that he was just being delusional and should come with her so they can go home. But Emma knew _that _wouldn't fly, so she tried being as vague as possible.

"Emma." She said. Maybe if she went with them she could convince Henry to come back with her to the ship. And if he refused, she would pick him and run. What kind of damage could pebbles do, anyway?

She had two days, maximum.

Her son just stared at her with steely eyes, the ones that Emma knew all too well. She saw them every time she looked in a mirror. She sighed. This was going to be a long two days.

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! I know, I started to hate myself. But so did you guys like this chapter? Leave a review! I'll be back tomorrow! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Okay, before the chapter, I have something to say. To PeaceHeather. If you're NOT PeaceHeather, you can scroll on to the chapter if you want. Because I will be defending myself. Now, thanks for your review, but I need to tell you something. In OUAT, you never hear him say that he went to school. He said that he grew up on a ship with his fugitive father and was abandoned. Now, I'm assuming this is true. Hook was honest with Bae in the season finale because he started to trust Bae for reasons beyond getting revenge. HOOK NEVER ONCE MENTIONED THAT HE WENT TO SCHOOL. I'm going purely off the show. And that was meant purely for laughs. Yeah, I'll admit it was a little out of the story, but it was to make people laugh. Even though he talks like a gentleman, he probably learned that from his father, who probably was educated. I'm assuming that the father went to school and learned how to navigate and taught his son. That's what I'm going off of. That's all I'm going to say... Now this is the chapter you've been waiting for... Protective Daddy Charming! **

Chapter 6

"Mary-Margaret, are you _sure _she didn't say _anything_?" David asked for about the seven thousandth time since they left the ship. Mary-Margaret nodded her head mutely, not convinced that this was one of the rare times when she defended Emma. Mary-Margaret and David were searching the part of Neverland that was around the mountain with the sheer, cliff peak. Mary-Margaret was convinced that nothing could be anywhere near there, but David insisted that the mere prospect of it being unreachable made it the perfect hiding place. Mary-Margaret already felt so guilty at hiding what Emma said to her that she just went along with it.

"Not even the smallest thing?" David prompted. Mary-Margaret sighed and answered.

"No, David. Emma never said anything when we were talking. I tried to get her to, but I guess she just didn't want to talk." Mary-Margaret lied. It made her feel horrible, lying to her husband like this. It wasn't fair to him, to not know that Emma was in love. But at the same time, it wasn't fair to Emma that David treated her like a little baby. She knew that he wished they had been around for that time in her life, when he could protect her from everything, but they weren't.

_And_, Mary-Margaret almost laughed as she was thinking this. _He seems to forget that _we _were kissing a lot after he woke me up from the sleeping curse_.

A smile played at Mary-Margaret's lips, but she squashed it. She had to be the exhausted mother, frustrated that she couldn't help her child. She looked at her husband's face, and she had to bite her lip from saying everything Emma had told her. Instead, she knew that she had to change the subject or everything would come flooding out like water out of a dam.

"Do you really think that Henry could be here?" Mary-Margaret asked. "I mean, getting up to the top there seems almost impossible!"

"That's why we're not looking on the cliff, we're looking here. There are plenty of places that a smart kid like Henry could figure out how to survive in around here. I really hope he didn't drink the water…" David trailed off, and Mary-Margaret could tell that he was not allowing himself to think what could happen to his grandson. He didn't want to think that Henry was dead, not after all that all of them owed Henry. He brought Emma to them in the first place, and reunited their family. There was no way that Henry was going to die out here, not while any of them were still breathing.

If Mary-Margaret could basically tell what David was thinking just by looking at him, could he tell when she was lying? She really hoped not.

Mary-Margaret thanked her lucky stars that David didn't have Emma's lie detector ability right now. It would be going off nonstop, but only to protect to her daughter. Mary-Margaret had convinced herself of this. Ignorance was bliss, and even though David wasn't completely ignorant, it was more blissful than it would be if he found out that Emma was in love with Hook.

Was she shocked when Emma told her? Absolutely. Did she know that there was no way that Emma could control it? Yeah. She also knew that it would overcome anything, even David's fist in Hook's jaw. The first time she met David she _stole his horse. _Another time, she accidentally shot him with an arrow, yet he was still with her. She knew that true love could trump anything, and Emma deserved true love more than anyone else that Mary-Margaret had ever met. True, she might be a bit biased considering that Emma was her daughter and she only wanted what was best for her, but anyone else would say the same. Emma's love life was probably a version of hell to some people.

But when she looked at David, she knew that he only wanted to protect her, to keep their daughter single as long as possible. To him, she'll always be the newborn that they sent through the wardrobe all those years ago. Nothing was going to change that, no matter how many times Emma came up with a plan on the spot or saved all of our lives, she was always going to his little girl.

"David? Would you say that your life is better with me in it?" Mary-Margaret asked, a long-shot at a hypothetical situation. If she could make David remember how amazing it was to be in love, maybe she could get him to go easier on Emma.

"Yes." David answered without a moment's hesitation. "Why?"

"Um… Just that love changed your life and made it happier, right? And if someone we knew was in love, you'd be happy for them, right?" Mary-Margaret asked, hoping to God that she wasn't being too obvious. David is still ignorant, and it's still blissful, so she tried her luck.

"Of course." David replied. "I'll ask again, it's _not _Emma, right?"

"Yeah. It's…" Mary-Margaret trailed off, trying to think of someone in Storybrook. Someone David would know. "Red!" _Okay, sure._ Mary-Margaret thought. _Red_.

"Who is she in love with?" David asked. Mary-Margaret had to learn to think on her feet and fast if she was going to keep this up.

"Oh, she didn't tell me." Mary-Margaret replied, hoping she sounded believable. "She thinks I wouldn't like him. You know, us being friends she thought that I would try to keep them apart or something."

"Well, I'm happy for her." David replied, and Mary-Margaret let out a silent sigh of relief. See, Red wasn't _really _in love, but David was still happy for her hypothetically being in love. He should be happier for Emma.

"Okay, Red really isn't in love." Mary-Margaret admitted. "Emma is."

Mary-Margaret felt her heart become fifty pounds lighter. It felt so good that David knew the truth and that she didn't have to lie anymore.

The expression on David's face changed in a millisecond. Mary-Margaret knew immediately that she made a mistake, that she should've just kept it a secret, but she couldn't lie to David. She loved him too much.

"With who?" David asked in monotone, already knowing the answer.

"Hook." Mary-Margaret admitted, glad that they were very far away. But Emma had two days before her father pounded the living daylights out of her true love. Maybe she hadn't done her job as a mother, but then again, she could only hide things from David for so long.

"I'm going to kill him if he comes within twenty feet of our when I'm around." David said, his deadly calm making the threat that much more believable. "I hope you know that. How long has this been going on? How long have you known?"

"Longer than Emma would like to know. Ever since the beanstalk. She volunteered to go up, but when she came back down, something was different. I mean, besides the fact that Mulan almost killed her." Mary-Margaret admitted. "She said that we had ten hours when she got down. She expected him to follow us. And based on the way that they look at each other, David, she was scared of getting hurt, and that's the only reason that she left Hook up there. If she didn't want him following us, she could've gotten out of there quick enough but she made sure that the giant released him."

"How long have I been oblivious to this?" David asked.

"A long time." Mary-Margaret said. "I know that we had a lot of hopes and dreams that when Emma was born we could raise her like a princess. That we could teach her to ride a horse, and that we could teach her to walk in that nursery in the castle. But we can't, and we can hope and dream about it, but that's not going to make those dreams true. She's adult, so you might have to put the shotgun away, and let her be."

"How do they look at each other?" David asked, and Mary-Margaret blinked in shock.

"You honestly don't see it?" Mary-Margaret asked, and David shook his head. "Well, they look at each other the way you and I do. They probably feel the same way, too."

"But Mary-Margaret he's a _pirate_. They're only out for themse-" David started, but Mary-Margaret cut him off.

"I know. He wasn't exactly my ideal choice either, but Emma loves him." Mary-Margaret argued, and that shut up David.

"But how does she know what love is? She's only a… a…" David couldn't find the right words to describe his feelings.

"A kid?" Mary-Margaret supplied. "No, she's not. And what she told the day we left the ship is true. She's twenty eight, she can take care of herself. She's done it her whole life. We should trust her on this."

They continued to tramp through the forest in silence, looking for anything that could be a hideout or a campsite. After a few minutes, David realized something that Mary-Margaret had said.

"Wait. You said that I _might _have to put the shotgun away. Does that mean…" David trailed off.

"Please." Mary-Margaret said, going into protective mode. "If he hurts one hair on our daughter's head or breaks her heart, I'm shooting him myself."

**A/N: Sorry about the note at the top, I just lost my cool. I've had a long day, and it's really sad for me. PeaceHeather, you just reviewed at the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm sorry. But did you guys like it?! I love making these chapters because it's hilarious and I can base Charming off my own dad... Now that I think about it, it's kind of sad. But review what your favorite part was! **


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm back! Hi! Sorry this chapter is a little late, I had a family thing to do, but I think it's pretty good. It's not Daddy Charming, but this one will be dramatic... I'm surprisingly good at that... (Mwahaha) **

Chapter 7

Killian woke up the next morning just as the first rays of dawn hinted the sky with pink, promising more colors to come just as it had every morning. Killian wasn't always sure why he woke up at this time every day, he just did. Maybe it was just a pirate habit. After not sleeping for days on end and then getting more than three hours of sleep for multiple nights in a row, his mental clock is a little off-kilter.

Emma had fallen asleep far enough away the night before that he couldn't see or hear her. Like he had the plague or something. It was _quite _offensive.

He considered waking Emma up to see the sunrise – it was always better in Neverland than in her land – but he remembered the previous encounter he had with Early-Morning Emma, and that wasn't something he'd like to repeat. He just sat in silence, listening to the sounds of Neverland waking up, and it seemed like the island itself was coming alive. It, and all of the dangers of it.

_We should really get moving_. Killian thought. _If we're to be back at the ship by tomorrow, we'll have to find the lad quickly_.

"Love, wake up." Killian said, and he expected Emma to rise and give him a death glare. But nothing happened. Nothing stirred, not even a change in the wind. He listened more closely to the world around him, and heard birds, the wind, but no breathing.

Killian couldn't hear Emma's breathing. He walked over closer to where she had been sleeping the night before and found it vacant. He should've known. She ran away, probably in the middle of the night. He had been so stupid to tell her how he felt.

Through the anger, one glaring fact stared Killian in the face. The fact that she'd stayed with him before. If she was leading him on, she would've run away the first chance she got, when he told to hide from the mermaids. But she didn't. Something must've happened to her. Something – someone – must've taken her, or she wandered off. The second thought made Killian's blood ice cold. Emma didn't know her way around Neverland, didn't know the dangers. She could be dead already.

Killian took a deep breath and tried to remember what Emma had told him about finding missing people. Look for anything suspicious. Well, it was bloody suspicious that she ran off in the middle of the night!

Killian realized that he couldn't think straight. If he was going to find Emma, he would have to do it with a clear head that he didn't currently have. He stalked off into the jungle, hoping a walk would clear his head.

Fun Fact about Killian Jones, despite spending centuries at sea, he doesn't have good coordination on land. He convinced himself that he just didn't have his land legs yet, and that it would come in good time. That was the excuse he gave himself when he tripped over a wire that had been disregarded and half thrown into the path. He was lucky he didn't fall into the six foot hole that was directly in front of it, though. It would've been pretty hard to get out using only one hand.

Looking at the hole, he could almost hear Emma screaming in his ear: _THIS IS SUSPICIOUS! FOLLOW THIS UP! _

Killian looked around. He knew that Emma said that footprints were useless, but it looked like a large group of people or a small army marched through here not long ago. He knew that over the way that the footprints were going was Hangman's tree, the hideout for the lost boys. They were the Lost One's rejects, the ones that weren't the child the Shadow was looking for, but they couldn't leave. All of the children have their memories wiped, and they go there, thinking that Neverland is their home. Bae had been one of them once, and he kept a close eye on Hangman's tree until Bae left Neverland. Something had triggered his memories, and he went back to Emma's land. Killian never did find out what had triggered Bae's memories, but it must've been important.

Then, Killian looked more closely at the footprints. They appeared to just be a jumble at first glance, but something was different about one of them. One set of feet was bigger than the rest, almost like an adults'.

An adult like Emma.

Killian had a renewed sense of hope. Maybe she'd gone for a walk the night before and found herself unable to get out of the trap. She was with the lost boys. She hadn't abandoned him. He was going to get Emma out of there before the Lost Ones show up and do their headcount of all the boys. They wouldn't want one to escape, now would they?

As the thought that Emma hadn't abandoned him popped into Killian's head, he smiled. He hadn't been in love for a long time, almost three hundred years, and times have changed tremendously. Maybe for once, he was doing something right.

He followed the footprints to the Hangman's tree, and looked around. It had been a long time since he last saw this place. How strange that both times he was here, he was rescuing one of Henry's parents. That's right. Despite what Bae might have to say about it, the only reason that he escaped to the Mermaid Lagoon in time was because of Killian. And now he was getting Emma out of here. But not before he figured something out.

Killian was aware that Emma was more than capable of escaping the lost boys on her own, but she was hanging around for some reason. They were getting down to the wire with the time constraint here. But he wanted to see what was so intriguing to Swan that she seemed to forget the time and finding Henry. What was going on?

Killian thought about his approach to Hangman's tree. He wasn't very well about to knock on the bloody door and walk in. With the lost boys, he had a… complicated reputation. All of the children who remembered Bae hated Killian, thinking that Killian kidnapped Bae and forced him away from Neverland. The children loved Bae, so his leaving was particularly devastating. And those boys who weren't there with Bae had heard the stories about Killian, which said that he threatened to _kill Bae if he didn't leave_. Killian had no intention of letting Bae trip, let alone killing him. But once it's a story heard by more than one person, it can't be disproved. Everyone knows that.

Killian developed a plan on how to watch the Hangman's tree unnoticed.

He was going to be like Emma watching the Lagoon. Yes, Killian knew all about Emma hiding behind trees and watching him talk to Ariel. She really just had to stay out of sight, but she found the need to watch him… and Killian thought he knew why. But he also knew exactly where Emma was at all times without even looking at her. She may have thought she was silently stalking through the brush, but he noticed miniscule leaf crunches and the sound of her boot stepping on dirt. Killian had developed an acute sense of hearing in order to hear things that were wrong with the ship. He knew the second that something went wrong.

As Killian watched the Hangman's tree from behind the brush, he listened, silent and still as a statue. He saw Emma through a window, talking to one of the lost boys. The boy was facing Emma, so Killian couldn't see his face, but he knew who Emma was talking to immediately just by the way she was looking at the boy. Emma didn't look at anyone else that way, like she wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world but with that person. It was Henry, without a shadow of a doubt.

Henry was with the lost boys, and not the Lost Ones. That was a relief. It would also explain why Emma hadn't made her escape yet. She didn't need to look anymore because she already found him! She was probably trying to convince him to go back with them to the Mermaid Lagoon. But, no. Emma wasn't talking most of the time. She was nodding, or shaking her head. She hadn't seemed to move her mouth enough times to make a sentence, and that meant that Henry must've been in control.

Why was Henry in control?

Then, something terrifying occurred to Killian. Henry may not have powerful in his land, but in this land, there were very different rules when it came to importance. At least Emma had magic, and as far as Killian can tell, it was hereditary or from true love. Emma was the product of true love, and that was what made her powerful. Could Henry have magic, too? If he did, it would make a lot of sense why he was with the lost boys and not the Lost Ones. The Shadow didn't want him because he knew anything special, but because of Henry's magic.

Henry didn't know how to use it yet, so that was the only thing saving him. Once he figured out how to wield the magic, then the Lost Ones would target him again. Killian had seen it happen before. A seemingly normal boy came to Neverland, and they unknowingly had magic. The lost boys take him in, and make him a part of their group, and once the kid knows magic, he's taken away to join the Lost Ones.

Just like the head of the Lost Ones, the blonde boy that boarded his ship looking for Bae all those years ago.

And now they were going to teach Henry how to use magic, and there's no way he'll return. Magic will destroy Henry, just like it destroyed everything else that it touched.

And then there will be no saving him.

**A/N: What can I say? I warned you all. I actually have no idea where I'm going with this, but I like it. :) Tell me if you liked in Reviews, and if you hate me for making Henry LOIT (Lost One In Training) you can tell me that, too! Bye! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Yeah, this is the next chapter. Sorry it's late, I had to do stuff. But now I'm not allowed outside, so I've had time to write! Good for you guys, bad for my social life. This chapter... **

Chapter 8

Emma sat patiently on the uncomfortable chair in the Hangman's tree with her own son drilling her like she was being questioned as a murder suspect. It was a really weird change, that much was for sure.

"What are you doing in Neverland?" Henry asked. "There haven't been any adults here, and when they came they didn't have the best intentions."

"I'm here looking for someone." Emma said. "I've almost found them."

She looked in her son's eyes, willing for something to click. But Henry's eyes didn't look normal. In Storybrook, they were clear and bright, noticing things that no one else saw. But now, Henry's eyes were cloudy, as if his insight was blocked by a fog inside of his head that couldn't get out. Emma had no doubt in her mind that the fog in Henry's eyes had everything to do with his memory loss. She just had to clear the fog somehow.

"What land are you from?" Henry/Peter asked again.

"I'm from a place called Storybrook. The person I'm looking for is from there, too." Emma tried to explain. It was hard to not exclaim that the person she was looking for was right in front of her. Sigh. Emma had a plan all worked out. She'd wait until they all went to sleep, then she'd snatch Henry out of the hideout and walk into the woods back to the camp where Killian – hopefully – remained while she figured this all out.

She actually started to hate herself as she formulated this plan, but she had to convince herself that it was all for Henry. Everything was for Henry. Meanwhile, her inner teenager was screaming at her that all it would do was cause problems later. That she should listen to what Henry wants and that's the only way they'll get along when Henry is older. She squashed seventeen year old mental Emma, trying to not let it show that it was physically hurting her to sit there. What did she know when she was seventeen?

"How do you know this person?" Henry/Peter drilled her.

"I'm his mother." Emma answered.

"So, you are a parent?" Henry/ Peter asked, and Emma nodded her head. He really had no idea who she was.

"Most of the boys here miss their parents. It's hard for them to cope with being taken away from their families. I wasn't expecting to ask this, but…" Henry took a deep breath, as if resigning. "Would you like to be our mother?"

"Whoa. Whoawhoawhoa. What?" Emma asked, her head reeling. It was hard enough being a mother for one kid, let alone how many lost boys there were. Emma was here for Henry and Henry only. She couldn't take all of the kids.

"Be a mother to us." Henry said. "They tell me that they _did _have one mother a long time ago, Wendy. But Wendy left, and the boys have been miserable. They miss someone that would tell them stories and hug them."

Wow. Henry must be really brain-dead if he thought that Emma was the huggy-kissy-mother-type. Nope. It wasn't happening. But if it could keep her from getting kicked out of the tree, then she would be close to Henry. She could get him out and to the Lagoon. This wasn't part of her plan, but she would make it work.

"Fine." Emma said. "But I don't do storytime."

"Good." Henry said. "We could tell you stories instead. Things you need to be careful of if you live in Neverland. We're kind of experts."

This _Peter _persona was nothing like Henry. He was cocky, arrogant, thought he was better than everyone else. Now that Emma came to think of it, Peter was an awful lot like Killian before they got to Neverland. Weird.

But Peter was nothing like Henry. Emma's Henry must've been in there somewhere, underneath all the fog.

"I'll go announce it to the boys, then." Henry said. "Come on."

Emma got up off the chair and followed Henry into the large, hollowed-out center of the tree. As far as Emma could tell, it acted as a recreation/ bunk room. There weren't any beds, Emma assumed that all of the kids must sleep on the floor, and when they aren't asleep, they were playing games or fighting with each other. It's kind of like a huge family.

"Guys!" Henry exclaimed, and everyone stopped what they were doing. Emma had no idea how Henry got to the lost boys' leader in a couple days, but it sure was coming in handy. It would also make getting him out there almost impossible, but Emma would find a way.

"What is she still doing here?" One of the boys called out, and there were general sounds of disapproval through the crowd. Emma had to dig her nails into her palms to keep her cool. She just had to wait until they went to sleep.

"I'm sure you all remember Wendy, and how she failed as our mother. Well, here I have your _new _mother. A better one for us, one who won't abandon us the way Wendy did." Henry explained.

"You weren't even _here _for Wendy!" Someone exclaimed from the back of the crowd. Other boys nodded, and Emma had the panicked thought that they might hurt Henry.

"No, I wasn't. But I've heard the stories and I hear the way you all talk about her. You say you wanted a new mother, and I have one. Her name is Emma." Henry finished. No one moved a muscle.

"You won't leave us?" One little boy asked. He didn't sound more than five or six, and Emma felt it tug at her heart. This little boy was obviously around when Wendy left them, and it left a scar on his heart. It sounded like it physically hurt him to think about Wendy, about being abandoned again. There are some things that even a child can't forgive.

What Killian said about the lost boys back on the beanstalk was true. They were all abandoned, had a certain look in your eye that you get when someone breaks your heart. Emma saw it all through her jail time.

As much as Emma didn't want to lie, she had to be here to get Henry out. Emma should her head, trying not to give away her true intentions with her eyes.

The little five or six year old boy ran at Emma, laughing and threw his arms around her neck. Then, the rest of them followed suit, all boys from ages four to eleven flew at Emma and hugged her. They seemed so happy to have a mother again, that Emma hesitated when she thought about her plan. She couldn't break all of their hearts like Wendy did. But then there was Henry.

He was the only one that hadn't rushed into the group hug, and he was the only one who she needed a hug from.

As much as it pained Emma, she was determined to carry out her plan when they were all asleep.

Emma was convinced that the lost boys were on a famer's schedule or something, because bedtime was when there was no more sun to see by. The boys were all lying on the ground, and Emma was about to snuggle into a nice, little corner to go to sleep when one boy said: "Emma? Can you tell us a story?"

"Go ask Henr-Peter. I told him I don't tell stories." Emma grumbled, tucking her head into the side of the tree.

"Please?" Someone else asked. Emma recognized the voice as the first little boy that hugged her when she was announced as their mother. She learned that his name was John. Then the chorus started. "Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasep lease-" and so on. Emma knew that there was no way she was going to get them to go to sleep, so she surrendered.

"Okay." Emma caved, and reluctantly stood up. "What do you want to hear?"

"About where you're from!" One little boy exclaimed. Emma nodded. She could explain Storybrook well enough. Who knows? It might jog Henry's memory a little bit. She looked in Henry's eyes, and saw that depressing fog.

"I'm from a land without magic. Well, it was originally without magic. That's a long story. But I'm from a town – what you guys would call a village, I guess – called Storybrook. Um… I'm the sheriff of the town, so if someone does something against the rules, I arrest them. We also have these things called books." Emma tried to explain. All of the lost boys seemed intrigued by the idea of Storybrook, but Henry looked bored. When Emma mentioned books, a flicker of the old Henry came back. He raised his head excitedly but it was repressed by the fog, and Henry lowered his head again. Emma's spirits soared. There still was some of her son. "Do any of you remember books?" Emma asked. There were various nods, but some kids looked at Emma like she was crazy. "For those of you who don't know, books have stories in them. Sometimes made up, sometimes they're real things that were written down. My son, he had a book of fairytales, made up stories. There's actually one in about Neverland, and you're all in it." Excited murmurs broke out, but Emma continued. "Anyway, my son had a book, and he was convinced that everyone in our town was cursed, and that they were all fairytale characters. And it turned out he was right. I broke the curse, and magic was brought there." All of the kids looked discouraged at the mention of magic. They all knew what it did. "There's something where I'm from called a TV, and a lot of kids like it. It's a box, and it has moving pictures!" Emma tried to sound enthusiastic to lift their spirits. All this talking about Storybrook has made her miss it all the more. "But it's really a great place. I wish we could all go there. Now, that's my story. Time to go to sleep."

Emma whispered the last line. This was what she thought it would be like to be a mother, just not with so many kids. She always wanted a family with Neal, and now she saw the rewarding parts of it. She'd fantasized about telling their kid a bedtime story, and tucking them in. Dreams came true every day.

Emma waited in the shadows for an hour, just to make sure all the kids were asleep. Now was her chance to get Henry out.

She tiptoed over to him, and found that he slept like a rock. She picked him up and slung him over her shoulder. As she was walking away, a small voice stopped her.

"Emma?" John asked, sitting straight up in bed. "Where are you going?"

"Out." Emma said in a whisper. She felt a wave of guilt in her stomach, making her heart ache. She was never going to see this kid again. She was just going to be one more person who abandoned him. She almost started crying.

"With Peter?" John gestured to Henry, and Emma nodded.

"You'll be back, right?" John questioned, and Emma painfully nodded.

"Now, go back to sleep. You don't want to wake up anyone else, right?" Emma said, and John lay back down. "I promise I'll be back soon." That hurt Emma _so much_ to say. Emma didn't want to think about when he'd wake up the next morning and see both her and Henry gone.

Emma snuck out of the Hangman's tree, Henry snoring softly. She had her son back, finally.

"Swan, you're bloody brilliant." Killian's voice came from the woods, and he emerged like a shadow. "You got the lad?"

Emma nodded, but stayed silent. If she opened her mouth, she felt like she'd say all that she left behind. That she had broken her promise.

Yes, she had her son back. But at what cost?

**OMG I'M CRYING! I'm so sorry, John. I really need to stop getting attached to my characters! I broke the heart of an imaginary five year old! At least she has Henry, but... Anyway, leave reviews if you feel the same way I do, and if you have any suggestions for where this story should go! Bye! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry, I know this is later than usual, but I had a party-thing and I couldn't escape to write, but I did manage. And this is probably my favorite chapter besides the first one, so I think you're going to like it!**

Chapter 9

Emma and Killian made it back to the Jolly Roger long before any of the other groups. Given that a.) they found Henry, and b.) they'd stuck closer to the shore than anyone else helped a lot. Emma couldn't wait to just _go home_. To Storybrook. Four days in Neverland might not seem like a lot, but to Emma it was a lifetime.

It was a good thing that Henry slept well into the late morning, because that was when Emma literally dumped him off with the Little Mermaid and company. As Emma was walking away, she wondered how long Henry would be asleep for, and that's when the mermaids' shrieking began. Emma may not have taught Henry much, but she taught him how to fight. And after the way that Ariel was looking at Killian, Emma thought she deserved a good punch in a nose.

But the revenge was short-lived, because Emma realized that a kid punching you in the nose tends to not make you want to help them.

"Are you sure they'll still swim Henry through the portal?" Emma asked anxiously, playing with her hair.

"Yes, love. I'm completely positive." Killian answered, trying to calm her nerves. But she seemed to not physically be able to calm down. He'd succeeded at that when they were on Neverland soil, but why couldn't he do it on the ship? He was more relaxed here, it was his home.

Emma had probable reason to panic. She'd just gotten her son back, and she was afraid of losing him again.

"How do you know?" Emma asked, her voice soaked in concern.

"That is for me to know, and for you to never find out." Killian said, smirking. Like it was joke or something. Emma resisted the urge to smack him.

"Killian, he's _my kid_. I swear to God if you don't tell me-" Emma threatened, but Killian interjected.

"What? You'll throw me in the ocean to the mermaids?" Killian joked. But then the first part of what Emma said registered. "Did you just call me Killian?"

Emma's eyes went wide as dinner plate, and she said something _real_ intelligent. Something along the lines of "uh… Maybe."

Snapping her wall back up, Emma regained her composure.

"How do you know that the mermaids will help?" Emma repeated, this time with more venom in her voice.

"Ooh. So scary." Killian said in monotone. Emma shot him a death glare, and that got a real answer out of him.

"I may have told them that Henry was my son." Killian answered.

"Did you tell them I was his mother?" Emma asked. Killian nodded, smirking again.

Emma was literally speechless. All of the color drained from her face. If it was established with the mermaids that she was Henry's mom, and Killian told them that he was Henry's dad, the mermaids would assume… Oh, God. Emma regained her voice after a few seconds of shocked silence.

"Why?" Emma exclaimed and hit him on the arm. "Why would you say that?"

"Lass, what was I supposed to do? Point out the beautiful blonde woman in the trees and say 'You see that girl? Well, she's prettier than you and her son is stuck here, so can you help?'" Killian asked. Emma almost nodded, but thought better of it. As awkward as Killian had made the situation, Henry was still getting help. End of story.

_Speak of the devil_. Emma thought as a certain red-head popped up from the ocean's depths. There was probably some underwater canal or something from the Lagoon to the ocean. She had a calm Henry in her grip, Ariel's hands wrapped around his wrist. If Henry decided to bail at last minute, there was no way for him to escape.

Ariel just grimaced at Emma before disappearing under the waves again. Emma felt the flame of protectiveness light in her, and she realized that Ariel hadn't come up for three minutes. And she had Henry with her. A person can only go so long without air.

"Ariel!" Emma yelled, knowing that Ariel couldn't hear her. Ariel may be half tuna, but that sure as hell didn't mean her son was! Emma was completely prepared to jump ship and get her son to the surface, but something stopped her. Something being Killian's arms restraining her.

"Swan!" Killian exclaimed, Emma fighting with all her strength to get away. She had to save Henry. She had to get him away from that sea-witch! She had to… She had to.

"Calm. Down." Killian whispered in her ear. Emma took multiple deep breaths, and pictured herself strangling Ariel, taking Henry, and him not drowning. It made Emma feel better, but not as good as seeing Henry's face above the waves would.

"Andrina! Aquata!" Killian calls from behind Emma, nearly deafening her. Two blonde mermaid heads poke up out of water, and they giggle to each other and play with their hair.

"Hello, Captain!" They called, batting their eyelashes and smiling. Emma sighed.

"Any reason you're not back at the Lagoon?" Killian called, and the two mermaids had a side conversation and laughed.

"We were only going to drown her!" One of the mermaids called, and Emma shot them a death glare that they couldn't see. "Your son is alright. Ariel put a spell on him that helps him breathe underwater." Emma felt better, but they were too focused on Killian's face. Emma was seriously about to kill them or at least sucker punch them so hard that they'll end up in yesterday.

Emma caught herself thinking this, and was surprised. Yeah, it wasn't the first time she'd wanted to hurt the mermaids, but why was she getting so worked up over Killian? Could her mother be… right? Could she be in love with him?

It almost seemed impossible, but then again, here she was getting jealous of mermaids.

"Andrina, go home. Take your sister, too." Killian said, and they pouted. One mermaid grabbed the other's hand and dragged her away.

"Are you coming back?" The one being dragged called. Killian shook his head, and she looked like she was going to cry.

They sulked and swam away, and Emma smiled. That's better.

Emma and Killian just stood there for a moment, realizing that they were all alone on the ship. That no one could get to it for probably hours, and that Henry was finally safe. Emma found her mind going back to one fact, though. That she and Killian were alone.

The silence was too empty for Emma's comfort.

She looked up at Killian, the man who had basically kept her alive in Neverland. She could've been eating poison berries for dinner, she could've never found Henry. She could've jumped overboard and been drowned by mermaids.

She could've never known that a bird could be mistaken for a hunter.

She felt like she had to thank him somehow, but there wasn't much she could do. A thought popped into Emma's head, a not-half-horrible idea. She knew that he would like it, and that was all that mattered to her. Emma bit her lip and found herself hesitating, but knew she had to just... go.

She threw her arms around Killian's neck and kissed him. Really kissed him.

Emma immediately felt whatever ties she felt to Neal melt in that second. Killian, obviously surprised, stared down at her and smiled.

"Well, it's about bloody time, lass." Killian said, and pulled her in close and kissed her again. And they stayed like that for a while, just kissing. Emma and Killian's body fit together like puzzle pieces, like they were made for each other. Emma knew in that moment that they were. All of her wall completely crumbled, and she let in the love that she denied herself for so many years. She never thought she'd end up with Killian, but this was what was meant to happen.

Emma knew it.

**A/N: SQUEE! I told you! Did you like it?! This is why it's my favorite chapter. Also, I love Killian restraining Emma because he knows the mermaids are there and he doesn't want her to get hurt! I think I have an addiction problem... There should be rehab for this stuff. But I promise I won't end it there! But I have exams tomorrow, so I should probably stud- who am I kidding? Until tomorrow!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry it's late, but I was kind of... is bad to say that I was procrastinating and needed to study? I think I'm addicted to the internet, guys. But anyway, here's the next chapter! **

Chapter 10

Emma and Killian hadn't been doing anything except talking and staring out at Neverland, then at each other, then back to Neverland. Emma figured that if she was going to do this – be in love – then it required some of the wall around her memories to come down. She trusted Killian, and she felt that this was a way to show that she was "trying something new" as he did so long ago on top of that beanstalk.

They had been talking for hours about life in the different lands, the different times. Emma couldn't stop talking once she'd gotten started, though.

She explained everything, even though she probably didn't need to. She told Killian all about the different homes she had as a foster kid, and all of her life wishing for a family to want her. She told him about one home when she was three, when she was there for a year before the wife was pregnant and gave her back because the unborn baby was their priority, not the little blond girl that called them Mom and Daddy. She remembered one house that she ran away from when she was a teenager because the parents were suffocating her. And then she was never found by the foster system, and she ran away to Portland. The rest is history.

Emma knew she should probably let Killian talk, but thinking about all of those homes and the families that didn't want her… Emma broke into tears. Her wall was down, exposing a heart with so many scars that she thought Killian would run and hide. But he didn't. He held Emma while she cried, and kissed away her tears. He didn't like to see his tough lass like this anymore than she liked feeling like this.

Emma pulled herself together and pulled away, staring back at Neverland so Killian didn't have to see how red her eyes were anymore. And then Emma realized she has the worst luck in all of the lands, however many there were.

Because her parents came onboard.

Emma smacked herself on the forehead and braced herself for the hug that was bound to come in three…two…

Emma counted down in her head to one and was almost knocked over by the force of Mary-Margaret turning her around hugging her.

"Whoa. It was only four days!" Emma exclaimed, hugging Mary-Margaret back. In truth, she was happy to see her, too, but Emma was also waiting for the lecture that was soon to come when they saw that she'd been crying. Emma managed to keep her head over Mary-Margaret's shoulder, and her dad was looking elsewhere.

"It felt like longer than that for me." Mary-Margaret said, relieved to have her daughter back in her arms. Mary-Margaret looked at Emma's red, puffy eyes, and her face filled with concern.

"Emma? Are you okay?" Mary-Margaret asked. Emma nodded, trying to keep silent. Maybe her dad hadn't heard Mary-Margaret say anything. Emma could only hope. But Emma's hope was naïve, because David came running over when he heard Mary-Margaret ask.

"Let me guess. You couldn't find Henry." Mary-Margaret assumed, and Emma contemplated her choices. She could have her Dad hurt Killian with nothing more than a fist, or she could go along with it and cry and have lied to her parents. Emma bit her lip and said nothing. Mary-Margaret assumed the worse and pulled Emma back into her embrace. Emma hadn't said or done anything, so when Henry came out of the portal, she could act relieved – that shouldn't be too hard – and no one would have to know except for Killian.

"I'm sorry, Emma. Maybe Regina and Gold found him." Mary-Margaret said, trying to comfort Emma. Emma knew for a fact that they wouldn't come back with Henry, though, and she would have to break down more.

"I hate to break up the family reunion," Killian cut in. "But once Regina and Gold get back, we have to leave right away. You never know what could waiting for the right time to attack us here. We're kind of sitting ducks."

"But what about Henry?" Mary-Margaret asked. "We have to find him." Killian looked at Emma confused, but Emma just shot him a glance that said _go along with it_.

"He's a smart lad, he'll find a way back on his own." Killian argued, and David's eyes flamed.

"We can't just leave him here!" Mary-Margaret exclaimed, glancing at Emma for support. Emma stared wide-eyed and silent, not expecting Killian to suggest that they leave Henry _behind_. "We have to stay for longer!" Mary-Margaret said.

Emma saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye in the ocean. Apparently, Mary-Margaret saw it too. Because at the exact second that Henry's head popped up after Ariel's, Mary-Margaret drew her bow and pointed it at Ariel's hair that kind of looked like a target.

"Get away from my grandson, half-salmon!" Mary-Margaret shouted, her gaze unmoving.

"So _great_ to see you, Snow White." Ariel shouted back, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You know her, too?" Emma asked in surprise. How many other fairytale characters was she missing?

"Yeah." Mary-Margaret muttered. "I had to go to her wedding. How's _Eric_?" Mary-Margaret shouted the last two words, and Ariel physically winced.

"I don't bother myself with _that_." Ariel replied. "And I would suggest you put your bow down."  
"And why would I do that?" Mary-Margaret asked.

"I might not help your grandson if you don't." Ariel mentioned, smirking with victory.

"Help Henry?" Mary-Margaret turned to Emma, lowering her bow in shock. Emma just kind of shrugged.

"Yeah." Ariel called from the ocean. "The kid is Hook's son. I'm getting him through a portal. When are we leaving?"

Mary-Margaret glanced at Emma and Killian, trying to put the pieces together.

"Emma, isn't-" Mary-Margaret tried to say, but Emma interjected quickly.

"Mom, can I talk to you? Now?" Emma asked, pulling Mary-Margaret out of Ariel's hearing range into the cabins.

"Ki-Hook may have told Ariel that Henry was his son, and that's the only reason she's helping. We need to get Henry back to Storybrook, so can you put up with her for, I don't know, three minutes?" Emma pleaded not bothering to breathe, and Mary-Margaret reluctantly nodded.

Mary-Margaret dropped her bow and sheath of arrows on the ground in the cabin and left them there.

"Better not to have the temptation." Mary-Margaret explained after getting a strange look from Emma.

They walked back out to the deck, where Regina and Gold had joined them. A sudden idea popped into Emma's head, and she turned to Gold.

"Please tell me Ariel owes you a favor." Emma said. "Please."

"I already heard the predicament. Sorry, dearie. I never found my way to Neverland, Ariel owes me nothing." Gold said. Emma would just have to deal with this until

"Dammit!" Emma exclaimed, and walked over to Killian.

"Are we going now?" Emma asked. Killian nodded.

"I would suggest getting something to hang onto or going into a cabin. I've known too many crew members who went overboard during a realm-jump." Killian said, and Emma nodded. Emma gathered up the entire group except Killian – he had an important job: Steering – and everyone went into their respective cabins.

Emma knew the second that the bean hit the water, because she heard water sloshing over the deck and the world started to pitch and turn around her. Her stomach dropped and tied itself in a knot, and she found herself almost hyperventilating. Why? Maybe because she was terrified going through this on a secure ship in a room where there was at least wood protecting her, while Henry was going through this with nothing to protect him but a mermaid.

The shaking suddenly stopped, and Emma smelt the familiar ocean-air of her land. Her home; Storybrook, Maine. She walked outside and saw the buildings against the horizon.

And then she let out the biggest sigh of relief she had in a long time. She saw Henry, followed closely by Ariel, pop out of the water.

"Emma!" Henry exclaims. "Mom!"

Whoever _Peter _was, Emma could tell that he was long gone.

"Henry!" Emma couldn't have been restrained by anyone. She took a rope and threw it overboard towards Henry. Ariel swam off, and Henry tied the rope around himself, knowing Emma's idea. Emma started pulling Henry through the water, and Killian joined in. Soon, Regina, Mary-Margaret and David had were all yanking on the rope, desperate to get Henry out of the freezing ocean.

Henry swam towards the boat and fed the group the rope and he was eventually suspended centimeters from Henry's outstretched hand.

Emma grabbed Henry's hand desperately and pulled him over the railing. Emma and Henry were immediately hugging and Regina pushed past everyone to get to them. Emma was so relieved that Henry was safe, she couldn't even put it into words.

"Thank God you're safe." Emma whispered to Henry. She noticed that his eyes were clear of the fog.

"It was only four days." Henry remarked and Emma almost laughed.

"It felt like longer than that for me." Emma said.

**A/N: Aww... Yeah. At least Henry is finally safe. And not that possessed Peter persona. Anyway, leave a review! **


	11. Chapter 11

**So, I think I'm getting pretty good at this ****_updating every day_**** thing. But here is the next chapter, kind of boring but get through it. I have a better chapter coming, I promise. **

Chapter 11

The Jolly Roger sailed into the harbor and docked. Emma had never been happier to see dry, familiar ground.

She raced off the ship onto the docks, only to have her almost fall over.

"No land legs yet, Swan?" Killian joked and walked past her, offering his hand. She gratefully took it.

"Guess not." Emma said, her legs wobbling as soon as she stood up. She leaned against Killian for support, trying to ignore the eight other eyes boring holes in the back of her head by staring. Emma leaned against Killian until they were off the docks, and then started walking on her own. She deemed herself able to walk and shifted her weight onto her own two feet. The eyes didn't stop staring, though.

Emma took a deep breath and faced them. The only one that wasn't staring at her was Henry, who was more or less beaming. Like something he predicted had played out. She motioned to Henry to go over to her side, and started walking home with her parents.

Emma just looked down at her son, so grateful to have him by her side again.

Then, Killian started running after them, after her.

Emma, seeing that David was probably going to shoot Killian, dropped back to join him. Henry followed suit, looking between Emma and Killian and trying to put the pieces together. Then it clicked.

"What are you doing? Do you have a death wish?" Emma asked, gesturing to her parents who had stopped in their tracks and were watching them very closely. Mary-Margaret had her bow back, so Killian should at least be out of range before speaking.

"I wanted to ask the boy something." Killian asked, and went down to Henry's eye level. "Do you remember Neverland at all?"

Henry gave a thoughtful look, like he was digging deep into his memory even though it was only a few hours ago. Something was wrong.

"I remember… some of it. Running through the forest, and… losing my scarf and… going inside this gigantic tree. I fell asleep there. And then this group of kids found me there. That's it." Henry recounted. Emma dug the scarf out of the pocket of her jacket and gave it to her son. Emma knew that Henry was talking about the lost boys, even if he didn't.

"Henry, do you remember anything else?" Emma asked. Maybe he remembered where Greg and Tamara or whoever wanted Henry was hanging out. They could finish this, and make sure no one takes Henry ever again. Henry shook his head, and Emma's heart sank. That meant that two nut cases with a need for her son where still out there, probably planning now how to get to Storybrook.

"Go with Mary-Margaret and David, Henry." Emma said. Henry shot her a suspicious look, but Emma just shooed him away towards his grandparents. They would go home, and she and Killian could talk in peace.

"Why doesn't he remember?" Emma asked. "If I was the leader of anything like the lost boys, I'd remember that. I'll be remembering Neverland until the day I die."

"It's the magic. While we were there, his magical abilities were unlocked somehow. The magic clouded his mind, and all of the memories were in that fog in his eyes." Killian explained. "When that fog went away, so did most of his memories."

"But why would he keep the memories about running through the forest?" Emma asked.

"Well, I don't know. It probably had something to do with an emotion." Killian speculated. "I'm not therapist, but running through the forest is probably from fear. You have to be running from something."

"And losing his scarf made him upset because it was a tie to this land." Emma realized, and it suddenly made sense. Emotions were a part of the brain. The part that stored memories associated with emotions stayed behind, even after the fog. So, Henry may not remember being the leader of the lost boys, but he remembers being found by them and being terrified. He probably thought he was going to die. But when Henry's life got less stressful, the memories were only associated with magic, and those disappeared.

"Who knew that magic actually was semi-logical?" Emma joked.

"It's not really, but whatever makes you feel better having it." Killian said. "Magic is the reason that Henry was taken to Neverland in the first place. Someone wanted to use it, to use him. He's like you. He has magic, but no idea how to use it. It makes Henry a loose cannon, and that's a bad thing to have as an enemy. They wanted to train him and use him against us, most likely."

Emma didn't understand. What did Neverland have to do with Storybrook? Why would they want to fight us? We didn't do anything! Also, Henry had freaking magic?

"Henry has magic?" Emma stammered out. Killian nodded.

"What did you think that fog in his eyes was?" Killian prompted.

"I don't know. I thought it was a spell or something they put on him." Emma said, trying to comprehend that Henry had magic. Henry, who always said that magic was bad, had the ability to control it. And from what Emma could tell, magic didn't help anyone. Henry shouldn't have it. He didn't need his life any more complicated.

"No." Killian said gravely. "That was Henry hurting himself. The magic was activated most likely by going to Neverland, to be exposed to a place where magic wasn't forced. I've seen it happen before."

"And now that he's back? Will the magic… change him?" Emma asked, desperate to protect her son from the evils of it.

Killian shrugged.

"I've never seen as much magic as I have in your son. He might even have more than Gold, and that would explain why the boy would be his 'undoing' as he told Belle." Killian explained. It made more and more horrifying sense in Emma's mind.

"How did he even get that much?" Emma's head was spinning.

"Well, probably from exposure to it. He'd been around the queen for his entire life, but I have no doubt that she used magic around him. His body probably grew accustomed to it, as it was part of the very air he was breathing." Killian guessed. Emma was suddenly enraged. Regina. Regina had done this to her son.

"Also from you." Killian finished, and Emma took a step back as if she had been slapped. Emma could never have done this to Henry, not intentionally. Regina knew that she was using magic, and that made her at fault. Emma was just born with it.

"That's impossible. I can't use magic." Emma protested.

"You may not be able to use it, but you have it. In life-or-death situations, it starts to work. Why do you think we got out of that cave? You were dragging me and still managed to get somewhere around a hundred feet away. Normal people wouldn't have escaped. But we did." Killian fought back. Emma had to admit, his logic made sense to her. From when Cora tried to rip out her heart, Emma realized that magic had been inside of her. And Henry came from her. She had been unknowingly exposing her unborn son to magic for a full nine months. This really was her fault.

"What can we do to protect him?" Emma asked. Right now, she was feeling so guilty about what she did to Henry that she was looking for any ray of sunshine amidst the darkness of her confusing. A way to protect Henry would be like a flashlight, assisting her to get through it. It would help her form a plan. But what Killian said was about as helpful as a popsicle in mid-December.

"We can hope that they don't come back." Killian said.

Great.

**A/N: Yeah, Killian is being pretty unhelpful. This was just kind of a transition chapter, a chance for Emma to find out all the details. Also, it gave her another excuse to blame Regina for something. I think Emma likes those. But anyway, review and tell your friends! **


	12. Chapter 12

**So, I know it's late! I had two big tests today, and I kind of didn't sleep last night. I needed to take a nap -don't judge- and it's also my friend's birthday. But here is the next chapter. I like it :) **

Chapter 12

Emma went home that night, feeling about as secure as a twig on a branch during a hurricane. There probably weren't magic beans to get Greg and Tamara back to her son, but there were probably other ways. Case and point, Jefferson's hat. There were always back ways when it came to magic. There was always at least one loophole.

Whatever she said about magic being semi-logical seemed naïve now.

It was around eleven when Emma got home, after having a proper celebratory meal at Granny's. A hamburger with a cinnamon hot chocolate. It was perfect. Everything was back to normal for the moment at least. The food was still delicious, the town wasn't falling apart at the seams, Ruby was still dressing like she was in high school, and it was completely relaxed. Until the bell on the door at Granny's rang again.

Now, Granny's was empty, and that was the way Emma liked it. And when she turned around to see who walked in, she saw a certain dark-haired pirate. As much as Emma would like to deny it, her heart skipped a beat. Emma sighed and turned back to her burger, determined not to let it show.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked as Killian slid on a stool at the counter next to her.

"Pirates have to eat too, love." Killian said. "And shouldn't you be with your newly-rescued son?"

"Yeah, well I'm just getting some dinner and leaving. I'm getting a to-go hot chocolate for Henry." Emma explained, her elbows bumping Killian's on the counter. She took a bite of her burger to fill the silence.

"I had an idea, about what we can do to protect Henry if Greg and Tamara find their way back here." Killian said, and Emma immediately lost all desire to eat. But Killian stayed silent.

"What?" Emma asked. She looked him in the eyes, and knew he was deciding whether or not to tell her.

"You're not going to like it." Killian said, and that made Emma slightly uneasy. But she didn't like a lot of things. She didn't like the mermaids, she didn't like Neal, and she didn't like the foster system. But she put up with it. She could probably put up with Killian's idea. And if she really hated it, she had full veto power. Emma gestured for him to continue.

"We let Henry hide in plain sight." Killian suggested, and Emma was surprised. She thought that he didn't know about tactics like that, being a pirate. Then again, he was a criminal a long time ago, so he had to learn how to hide in crowds like a professional. Emma had learned that too.

"But, what if something goes wrong and they find him? We need to have a backup." Emma said, fearing the worst. She would rather be safe than sorry.

"Then, we need to get Regina to get Henry to the ship by magic. It'll be easier to make a getaway from there and just wait out Greg and Tamara. If they don't find Henry, they'll leave." Killian explained.

"Yeah, but the ship is made of wood." Emma pointed out. "And don't you think for one second that they won't be afraid to soak the ship in gasoline and light a match."

"Not if we get out to sea first." Killian countered. Emma sighed. He was just as stubborn as she was.

"Lass, what do _you_ suggest we do? Lock Henry in a concrete box in the woods until they go away?" Killian suggested out of frustration. She just didn't listen. In Emma's mind it actually wasn't a horrible idea. Concrete is pretty hard to get rid of, magic or not. Killian saw her expression, and saw that his joking suggestion was taking a turn for the worst. "Whatever you do, _don't _say that's a good idea."

Emma has heard worse ideas, though. Hell, she's _had _worse ideas.

"I just want to make sure he's safe." Emma said. She had to give him up for adoption once, and that was hard enough. Neverland, though, that was the final straw. Emma was going to make sure that nothing happened to Henry.

"And he's back. He's safe for now." Killian reassured her, looking into her eyes and seeing the immense worry there. Eyes are the windows to the soul, and Emma's soul couldn't stop worrying even after Henry was okay.

It's not that Emma was overly protective like _one_ of her parents – cough cough David cough cough – it's just that even though Henry was okay now, she wanted him to stay that way for as long as humanly possible.

Emma took another bite of her burger as Ruby came out from the kitchen. She looked at Killian and looked at Emma.

_What's he doing here? _Ruby's eyes asked.

Emma shrugged, trying her best to look indifferent. But Ruby saw something that there was no possible way for Emma to see. Emma almost seemed to be lit up from the inside, like a candle was shining inside her. Ruby almost laughed as she remembered when Snow was in love, and Ruby had caught her smiling so many times. Snow had the same look about her then that Emma did now. Like mother, like daughter.

"Can I take your order?" Ruby asked, turning her attention back to her job.

"Not yet." Killian said, earning a flicker of a surprised look from Ruby. There was an average of six things on the menu. It didn't take that long to scan and see what you wanted. Ruby backed into the kitchen awkwardly, glancing at Emma again before disappearing into the back.

Then, Killian turned to Emma.

"What would you recommend, Swan?" Killian asked, and Emma thought about it for a second.

"This." Emma said.

"Meat in between two pieces of bread." Killian clarified, and Emma nodded. "This land never ceases to confuse me."

Emma rolled her eyes.

Emma will never forget the look on Killian's face the first time he took a bite of his hamburger. Emma bit her lip to keep from bursting out laughing. His eyes went wide, and there was a moment where he just stared at it in shock, then started eating like it was the first piece of food he ever saw. It was really funny to Emma.

They finished up their dinner and Emma got a to-go hot chocolate with cinnamon for Henry. Killian held the door open for her and smirked.

"_Such_ the gentleman." Emma commented and started towards her apartment.

"Swan, I do believe you're forgetting something." Killian said. Emma turned around and gave him a confused look. She still had Henry's hot chocolate and her wallet. That was all she brought. But then Killian surprised her.

"I believe at the end of a date, there is a goodbye kiss." Killian said. Emma rolled her eyes. God, he never left her alone sometimes.

"This wasn't a date." Emma said and turned around, walking away.

"Swan, you wound me!" Killian called after her mockingly.

"Goodnight!" Emma called, not looking back. But what Killian said stuck with her. Was this a date? She didn't think so. He just walked into Granny's when she was there and they talked. She didn't qualify that as a traditional _date_. But, come on. _Killian_ and _traditional_ aren't exactly synonymous.

She thought about it all the way back to the apartment, wondering what aspects made it a date. Maybe it didn't start out as a date, but kind of… evolved into one? Emma sighed. She felt like she didn't know anything.

Now you know why she felt about secure as twig during a hurricane.

**A/N: So, review! REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW! Now, I must go back to cramming for my science test tomorrow! Bye! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Yes, I'm aware that it's late. But I got back from Hershey Park and I was tired because my sugar crash has begun. I give myself fifteen minutes before I'm passed out on the couch, unreachable by humankind. It took me much longer to accomplish anything, so it's around 12:30 in the morning. But since I took a day hiatus - technically two days - I owe you guys two chapters. But I'm paying my debt for Thursday, and I'll post two chapters on Saturday if I can be that productive. :) But here's the next chapter! **

Chapter 13

Maybe Emma was insane. Maybe it was some kind of post-Neverland disorder or something, but the next morning when she woke up, she couldn't stop thinking about when she'd woken up next to Killian in Neverland, when she hadn't had enough coffee to function. And then she actually wished to be there, in that moment in time, instead of Storybrook with Henry. What was wrong with her? She had allowed herself a break because it was Neverland and it didn't exactly happen every day. She went with the flow for a little bit, and now she was back and focused on Henry's safety.

Or was she?

Ever since she got home late the last night, she just sat up in bed, wondering if she could claim Killian's impromptu-date as a real thing or just one more of his flirting techniques. Probably a mixture of both. But she couldn't help remembering what Mary-Margaret had said what seemed like a lifetime ago on the ship. That she had let him into her "wall". The truth was that she didn't _let _him in. He just had one so similar that he must've known where the chinks were.

After an antagonizing, sleepless night, Emma needed lifeblood and comfort. In other words, caffeine.

She rubbed her eyes and dragged herself out of bed to find that Henry and David were already gone. Crap, what time was it? NINE O'CLOCK?! What?

Emma could never sleep this late to save her life. It was left over from when she was a criminal and it was kind of from constant fear of being caught and sent back to jail. You tend to not sleep a lot. Emma had always guessed that being a criminal was a twenty-four seven job, like being a secret service agent or a computer hacker.

Or a captain.

Emma sighed, thinking of the Jolly Roger sitting there in the docks all alone. And the house was empty except for Mary-Margaret. Out of all the places she had been on the ship, she had never once been to Killian's cabin. For some reason, the place always intrigued her, and not in _that _way. Killian once said that a pirate keeps souvenirs from their conquests. Emma just wanted to see what else there was.

Emma downed her newly made cup of coffee so quickly it scalded her throat, the prospect of adventure waking her up more than anything else. She put on a t-shirt, jeans, and shrugged on her trusty red leather jacket. She was debating whether or not to bring anything to pick a lock with, but she doubted that the ship had a very sophisticated security system. To pick the lock, she'd probably just have to jiggle the knob.

Emma hadn't noticed Mary-Margaret sitting on the couch as she was leaving, so she said Good Morning and tried to leave. She was _so close to freedom_, but her mother's stupid maternal instincts went off. Mary-Margaret knew better than anyone that she was twenty eight and not four, but sometimes even that didn't stop them.

Like most days in Maine, it was foggy and rainy, but that probably wasn't Mary-Margaret's main concern. It was probably why her daughter had slept until nine o'clock on a work day. That was a little weird. Emma also speculated that Mary-Margaret had heard her come in at eleven last night and got no sleep, and that might have something to do with it.

"How did you sleep?" Mary-Margaret asked, trying to engage in conversation.

"Okay." Emma responded curtly, really just trying to get out of there.

"Henry must've having a nightmare, because he kept calling out for you in the middle of the night. But he said the weirdest thing." Mary-Margaret started, recounting the events from the night before. "Henry kept saying that you were just like Wendy."

Emma felt guilt stab her like a knife. She had thought that the Peter persona was completely gone, but maybe it was hiding, bidding it's time or something. Henry was still Peter in his dreams. But comparing her to Wendy? That's a little harsh.

For the first time since she left Neverland, she allowed herself to think about the lost boys. Their reactions to finding their new mother and leader gone. She thought about John, who already had scars on his heart, being hurt again by Emma. Now he had two names to hate. Two names to be bitter over. If Emma had learned anything about being bitter, it was this: Even when you can't remember the person's face, you still remember their names and you hate them. When Emma was in the foster system, she hated the idea of her parents for abandoning her, even though she had no idea what they looked like. When she was really little, she hated people for mentioning parents in front of her, even saying "Mom" or "Dad", because it was a name of something she didn't have. That's how bitter a name makes you. And John could now add "Emma" to his list of names to hate.

"I don't know what that means." Emma said, looking at her feet. She really didn't want to talk about this. She'd tell Mary-Margaret when she was ready to accept that she broke a bunch of little boys' hearts. Little boys who were innocent enough to trust her.

So Emma would be telling Mary-Margaret about fifty years after _never_.

"Neither do I." Mary-Margaret said. "Maybe you should talk to him once he gets home from school."

Emma nodded. She didn't want even her son's subconscious to think she was a bad person. But was she? Maybe. Probably.

Emma closed the door to the apartment and walked down the stairs to the ground level of the building. She exited the front door and headed straight for the docks.

Water hadn't always calmed Emma. But for some reason, lately she was feeling more relaxed near the ocean where it's waves shattered against the docks. Maybe it was from spending so much time around it lately. She'd just have to remember what it was like to live exclusively on the land, and she would get rid of this obsession with the ocean. She wouldn't have to go to the docks to think clearly.

Emma didn't have to see the Jolly Roger to know exactly where it was docked. Besides the fact that it was a giant, looming pirate ship and every wooden board seemed to be trying to speak to her through its creaking, she had been here so recently that it was fresh in her mind. She also still had a map of the ship at the forefront of her brain, so that was very helpful.

She walked up the ramp and onto the deck, and strode straight to the door to Killian's quarters. What was she going to find in there? Maps? Gold coins stacked up in piles all across a desk? No. All of that seemed to cliché for Killian to have. Then again, he _set _the cliché for most pirates.

If Emma was certain about one thing, it was that she had been right about the security standard. The door wasn't even locked.

Emma pushed open the door, stepping into a whole new world.

**A/N: I think that it's a pretty good chapter. Plus, I'm getting really excited about all the stuff that Killian kept from over three should be fun! But since I'm out of school for the year (FREEDOM), I have some free time. In which I will be writing. There. Don't come hunt me down with pitchforks. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Yeah, so I'm paying my Friday debt with this chapter. I'll be posting later, so I'll basically be up all night because I have to type another two chapters, too. Nothing like I was getting reviews about, but I think you guys will still like it. I mean, I tried listening to "As Long As You're Mine" from Wicked, but nothing was coming. So, yeah. This is pretty good. Longer, too. Here it is! **

Chapter 14

The first thing Emma noticed was that there were shelves freaking everywhere.

There were shelves above the desk, mounted on the wall and looking like they could fall over any second. There were shelves that were almost completely empty, and there were shelves that were so full of stuff that it actually had to be stacked on top of each other. There were some gold coins, but not as many as Emma would expect a pirate to have. Maybe it was like the emergency ten dollars she always kept in her pocket. Having a little money on you never hurt.

Emma gazed at the little trinkets fit onto the shelves like little puzzle pieces that fit together just right, like a game of Tetris. Beige pouches made of burlap held something that Emma couldn't imagine, the drawstrings begging her to open the bags. Paper was also stacked on the shelves, covered in amazing charcoal drawings. Trees, valleys and meadows were the vast majority of the pictures, but there were portraits, too. A certain little boy kept showing up, and he actually looked vaguely familiar. Emma couldn't place a name on him, but she had definitely seen him before. Then it hit Emma. In Henry's book.

This little boy was Neal – okay, she was ready to admit that he was Baelfire. Emma now knew why Neal never talked about his past or could never show her any pictures of his parents. He didn't have any pictures. It was strange to see Baelfire as a kid, but he couldn't have been much older than Henry. But she could still see traces of her Neal that were in this childhood Baelfire. But why would Killian have these?

_His mother must've drawn these_. Emma realized. That was why Killian kept them for over three centuries. These were made by Milah's own hand. The drawings were all that Killian had left of his true love. She didn't blame him. If Emma didn't rip that keychain necklace off in New York, she still would've kept it. Because Neal stole it for _her_.

She could've explored there for hours, but she couldn't get past the drawings. They were too intricately made for her to just turn and walk away. She flipped through all of them, wanting to see every single one. They were better than any modern artist that Emma had ever seen in any museum across the country.

She saw so many pictures of young Baelfire that the image was permanently imprinted on her brain. Why had Milah drawn so many pictures of her son? She wanted to ask Killian, but then she'd have to admit that she snuck into his quarters, and God knows what innuendos he could come up with ammo like that.

Then Emma came across a picture of a dark-haired woman, who seemed to be looking at something that was just off of the page. Out of curiosity, Emma followed the woman's gaze and saw a picture of Baelfire. Even without knowing with certainty, the universe had sent Emma a sign that this was the famous Milah. It was a self-portrait.

Emma was suddenly extremely self-conscious.

Milah's hair was dark, voluminous, and wavy enough to not be frizzy. Emma's hair was dull, flat and always a mess. Milah's eyes were wide as if she were looking at something exciting. Emma never looked like that. She knew that almost nothing made her look like that except on Neverland. Emma had seen it all. She couldn't be excited. Emma wondered what Killian saw in her, compared to what he had with Milah. Someone who was willing to give up her entire life to follow him, and wanted more than what she had. Emma had learned to settle, and she couldn't leave Henry and her parents for the world. She was nothing like Milah.

Then, Emma thought she went insane. She was almost _jealous_ of someone who died three hundred years ago. But still…

"He had you." Emma said to the drawing, as if it could hear her. "Why does he need me?"

"Swan, I _had _Milah, but she's gone now." Emma heard Killian's voice come from behind her. Oh, God. Crap. Emma wanted to smack herself on the forehead. What made her think this was a good idea? Why had she gone here? She must've ignored the voice of reason screaming at her in the back of her brain telling her to stay and take a day off. Emma thought of herself as digging her own grave.

"Then I'll ask you." Emma said, placing Milah's portrait gingerly on top of the stack of all of the rest of them. "Why would you want me?"

"You really need an answer, love?" Killian countered, and Emma shook her head. She knew exactly what he saw in her, because she realized that she saw the exact same things in him. His stubbornness, his bravery, his refusal to give up despite the odds. She had found Henry by accident, but there was no way that she would've ever stopped looking. But there was also no way that Killian would've ever left her, knowing that finding Henry would've made her happy, and he wouldn't have ever stopped trying to make her happy. She even loved his dry humor at times. His calling her 'love' despite her protesting. It was so routine that she couldn't imagine life without it. Without him.

"But I do want to know what all of this stuff is." Emma said, submitting to her voice of reason that was saying to just tell him the truth. And for once, it was actually right. Maybe she should listen to it more often.

_Nah_. Emma concluded.

"Guess I'll have to give you the grand tour, then." Killian said, smirking. He started with all of his "trinkets" from Wonderland. Apparently all of his stuff was sorted by _land_. Emma almost rolled her eyes. But she learned that rolling her eyes would only provoke him. She tried to concentrate on where he said he got anything, but she couldn't stop staring at his lips. The ones she'd kissed. The ones that kissed her. He'd somehow swept her off her feet with only one hand, and so many other two-handed guys had failed.

Emma almost laughed.

They made their way around the shelves, him taking his time telling where he got it and staring at it nostalgically for a second before replacing it on the shelf. Then, he got to the drawings by Milah, and her face was just staring at his and he looked like he might shatter into a million pieces. Emma didn't want him to look like that. Having him look that heartbroken and depressed made _her _feel heartbroken and depressed. But he put the picture down and skipped the shelf of the Enchanted Forest completely, and moved onto her land. But he didn't speak with the same enthusiasm, with the same excitement like a little kid in a candy store.

Gravity was the only thing that was keeping the whole system loosely held together. It also seemed to be the only thing holding Killian together.

"Guess that's it." Killian said.

"Thank you. That was really interesting." Emma lied, not remembering one thing except the look on Killian's face when he saw Milah's picture.

"You're welcome, love. Anytime." Killian said, and Emma smiled. The fact that he would drop something to spend time with her meant a lot.

"I'll just go." Emma excused herself, and left Killian's quarters. She closed the door and stood there for a moment, and she could almost feel his emotional shield come down. Emma knew that he needed her. She would need him.

She pushed the door back open, and saw him sitting on his bed and running his hand through his jet-black hair, one tear falling down his cheek. She walked back in, and sat down next to him. He put his arm around her and she curled into him, putting her head in the crook of his shoulder. She tried to take his misery away just through wishing it away, but she seemed unsuccessful. So, they just sat there, him holding her. Emma lost all sense of time, and she realized that she was wishing for an eternity to just sit there with Killian, and take away his pain.

**A/N: I think Emma has finally submitted to her feelings! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! So, remember, I'll be back later tonight(maybe around seven, because it takes me forever to get anything done) with my chapter that was supposed to be for yesterday. Fanfiction was being spazzy and wouldn't load at one am. Who knew? But yeah, so I officially owe you guys only two chapters! Then, my schedule will be back to normal for Monday!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Told you I'd be back! This chapter... I just can't, and I wrote it! But yeah. This is a few hours after Killian's (I'm just gonna call it a breakdown, okay?) breakdown. But this is my Saturday debt, so all I need to write is my Sunday chapter and I'll finally have a normal schedule! So watch out for later updates, guys! **

Chapter 15

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Emma asked, and Killian nodded. It was late at night now, but that didn't matter to Emma. She would've stayed there however long it took to make sure that Killian wasn't upset anymore. She knew that he loved her, or so he said, but it didn't bother her that he was still upset about Milah's death. Maybe he was so focused on revenge at that time that he never had time to grieve.

Besides, Emma was his love now. He'd said so himself.

She felt the same way about Neal after she let him drop through that portal what seemed like forever ago. But she had to find Henry. She had grieved in her mind. She didn't need to cry and sob like she would've used to. Emma was more grown up than that. And of course, Neal wasn't any Killian. If she lost Killian, she would pull through it for Henry, but nothing would be the same. She wouldn't be able to go anywhere in Storybrook without thinking of him. God, she'd never be able to go to Granny's and order a hamburger ever again. Emma would never be able to look at the stars.

Maybe that was all Emma had to do to help Killian. Stargaze. It was what they did together, and they had some of their real bonding looking at the stars in Neverland instead of each other. And there was no way that Killian could just go back into his quarters and not stare at Milah's picture and feel even worse. No, she had to keep him out of there.

"Come here." Emma said, walking onto the deck. She realized just how late it was because of the moon's position. It wasn't as accurate as the sun, but she guessed that it was around eleven o clock. They must've sat there for a long time. Emma had no idea.

Killian followed her, and they both stood by the railing. It wasn't the clearest night, but clear enough for what Emma had in mind. Emma was intent on finding Orion's belt, her eyes darting all over the sky looking for the very specific pattern that children are always shown by a parent's pointing finger. Emma had found it on her own, she could find it again. Then she saw it, glimmering like three silver coins.

"There it is." Emma said, pointing. She was excited for the first time in a long time. Killian's gaze followed her finger, and he just gave her a confused look.

"What is that supposed to be? I just see a line of stars." Killian asked, and Emma shook her head, laughing.

"That's Orion's belt." Emma said. "The hunter constellation we have here."

"Oh." Killian said, making it clear that Emma had clarified nothing about how three stars in a row made a hunter. Emma drew the picture of the hunter in the sky, using the stars like a game of Connect the Dots.

"That's a hunter?" Killian asked, and Emma nodded. Killian responded by staring her straight in the eye, smirking and saying, "That's a bird."

Emma started shaking with laughter.

"Shut up." Emma shoved him on the arm, trying to not cry with laughter. She had known somewhere in the bottom of her heart that he would say that. Only he would remember something like that. It wasn't just that it was one of the pinnacle moments of their Neverland adventure, it's just that he remembered more about her than any other boyfriend she'd ever had.

Now both she and Killian were laughing, the sounds of their joy echoing through the port like the sound of a violin ringing a high note through Carnegie Hall.

Then, Emma saw a storm cloud that she hadn't noticed before rolled over the hunter constellation. This cloud was different from the rest. It wasn't a little wisp of a cloud like all of the others. This one was solid and rolled through more like it was controlling the winds instead of vice versa. It promised a thunderstorm. Emma should probably get home. She didn't want her parents and Henry to worry when it started to downpour, which it probably would.

As if on cue, freezing rain first drizzled, and then poured down on the boat sending waves of shock through Emma with every icy drop. She had her red leather coat, but this was colder for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that it seemed more as if buckets were cold water were being dumped on her by God, but she started shivering.

Based on every romance film that Emma had ever been forced to sit through, she should starting making out with Killian. And she had to admit, the rain in his hair only made him look _better_. She probably looked more along the lines of a drowned dog, with her hair that had gone from frizzy to stringy in a matter of seconds, and now she was shivering form the cold, too. That was _definitely_ attractive.

"I guess I should get going!" Emma shouted over the wind. It had picked up and it seemed like a tropical storm was hitting Maine. At least, Emma assumed that this was what a tropical storm was like.

"Lass, there's no way you can make it back to town." Killian reasoned. "Stay here for a while and let it clear up!"

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Emma retorted. Killian only smirked in response. Emma couldn't resist him that was clear, even to her. She kissed him, completely ready for whatever might happen. She was done playing games with him.

He pulled her closer, and when they came up for air Emma was beaming. Killian grabbed her hand and lead her back to the door to his quarters. They started kissing again and went inside.

Emma shut the door behind her.

**A/N: Now you know why I just couldn't! AHHHHH! But I'm going to come back later, and I already have an idea for where this story is actually going to go now! Yay! I won't end it early! I have to go have something my friends call a "social life" so I'll see you guys later! **


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm back again. I told you guys I was going to pay all my debts, and DAMMIT THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN! So, here is the next chapter, and it is my Sunday chapter, so you will have to wait until tomorrow (*sings* you just gotta hang on till tomorrow!) (Sorry, I'm watching the Tony Awards). But yes, what you are all assuming ****_did _****happen, but I'm skipping it. Deal with it. **

Chapter 16

Emma woke up late the next morning in Killian's bed, her fingers intertwined with his.

"Morning, love." Killian whispered in her ear.

"Morning to you too." Emma responded.

"You have no idea how long I waited for you to respond to that." Killian said, wrapping his arms around her. She curled into his strong chest, the warmth radiating into her heart. He really loved her. He really did.

It was hard for Emma to comprehend anyone loving her, but she had finally broken down her wall. Maybe that was all she ever needed to do. She needed to trust someone. Emma remembered when Killian had suggested that she tried "something new. It's called trust." He was right. She just needed to trust him. Now that she did, she didn't feel so… alone.

Then she realized that she'd been missing all day to her parents. And she'd only told her mother that she was going out. Crap. The only upside was that she knew they didn't call the police yet because she and her dad _were _the police. Maybe if she snuck back _right now_, they might not kill her in her sleep.

Emma squirmed out of Killian's embrace, and he looked at her quizzically.

"I have to get out of here. Now. I came here yesterday and I haven't been back to the house yet. Everyone probably thinks I'm dead or something!" Emma started rushing around, picking up her clothes and putting them on.

"Lass, I doubt they think you're _dead_." Killian pointed out. "They probably just think that you ran away."

Emma shot a glare. Like that was going to help.

"At least your father hasn't shown up and found you yet." Killian said, and Emma shrugged submissively. It was a little blessing.

"I still have to get back to Henry." Emma countered.

"I think you use Henry as an escape." Killian speculated. "When something becomes too much for you, you say that you need to go to Henry and you never come back."

"Don't worry." Emma said. "I'm not ditching town any time soon."

"Even if you do, you know that I'll track you down somehow, right?" Killian said, while Emma finished dressing and grabbed her jacket. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to attempt to brush it. But if anything, it made it look worse and she abandoned the idea quickly. She almost forgot something very important in her rush. Emma walked back over to Killian.

"Guess you're getting that goodbye kiss now." Emma said and gave Killian one last kiss before rushing out of the cabin. The deck was wet and slick, but that didn't bother Emma. She just rushed off the ship onto the docks. Emma was formulating a plan that actually could maybe work. Okay, it was a huge maybe, but it was worth a shot.

Emma sprinted into to town, and ran right to the hotel where she stayed when she first got to Storybrook. As usual, Granny was behind the desk. Emma sighed.

"Hello, Emma." Granny said. "Would you like to see Ruby?"

Emma nodded, and Granny went into the back. Ruby emerged, relief all over her face. She rushed out and hugged Emma.

"Thank God you're okay, Emma." Ruby said. "Snow was so terrified. We had that storm and you weren't anywhere. We thought…"

"You don't even need to tell me." Emma said. She immediately felt guilty for taking a night off and going to Killian. "So, you're my mother's best friend, right?"

"I should hope so." Ruby responded.

"And kind of like her sister? My aunt?" Emma clarified, and Ruby nodded.

"Emma, what are you getting at?" Ruby was growing suspicious. Emma could tell.

"You have to help me. But you have to lie to my mom." Emma admitted, and Ruby's eyes went wide. Emma knew in that moment that there was no way that Ruby was going to lie to Snow. Ruby took a deep breath, and answered – to Emma's shock – "Does this have to do with Hook?"

"Killian." Emma corrected without thinking twice. Only then did she realize how much that one word gave away.

"Oh my God." Ruby said. "I knew it!"

"You knew what?" Emma asked, hoping desperately that no one took bets on how long that it took Emma and Killian to get together.

"That you two loved each other." Ruby said. "I mean, come on. He actually took your suggestion on something to order. You two went up a beanstalk together. It was only a matter of time."

"What? Did you guys have money on it or something?" Emma asked.

"No. But if we did, I would've lost some cash." Ruby commented. "Plus, Killian's smell is all over you. I can smell it. It's a wolf thing."

"Crap. How do I get it off?" Emma asked, hoping that it wasn't that obvious.

"Take a shower when you get home. Now, what about this _lying_ _to Snow _business?" Ruby interrogated her. Emma stayed silent. "Hey, I gave you advice, you give me an answer."

"Touche." Emma said. "Anyway, I just need you to tell Mom that I stayed here for the night because I had to something super important that I haven't come up with yet."

"Um… just say you got caught in the storm, and you had to stay with us." Ruby suggested, and Emma let out a relieved breath.

"You're good." Emma said, smiling at her temporary partner in crime. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Ruby said. "Now I'll call Snow."

Ruby pulled out her cell phone and dialed Snow's, putting the call on speaker. Her mother's desperate voice echoed around the small lobby of the hotel.

"Red? Hi." Snow said. "Do you have anything new about Emma?"

"Actually, I do." Ruby said. "She's right here." Ruby handed the phone to me.

"Hi, Mom." Emma said sheepishly.

"Emma!" Mary-Margaret said, the word full of relief. Emma heard everything going on the background stop dead. "You're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Emma responded. Then, the mask of relief keeping Snow calm broke. She screamed into the receiver, and Emma had to hold the phone at arm's length.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" Snow's voice exclaimed, like a bomb going off.

"I was in town, and the storm came and I got stuck." Emma almost whispered.

"She stayed in the hotel overnight." Ruby piped up from behind Emma. Emma shot her a grateful glance. Ruby was officially her favorite aunt. Ruby shifted with guilt at lying to her best friend, but she knew it for the right reason. For Emma's love.

"Emma, we thought you were gone. Trees are blown over, and it's really a mess further out. W-we just assumed…" Mary-Margaret was crying, Emma could tell. Tears of happiness. Happiness that her daughter was alive. "C-can you come home?"

Emma nodded for a second before remembering that her mother couldn't see her and it was just silence.

"I'm coming." Emma said. "What about Henry? Is he okay?"

"Henry's fine. He's just worried about you." Mary-Margaret responded. Emma hung up, handed the phone back to Ruby and gave her a grateful hug. Then Emma sprinted out of the hotel faster than a lightning strike. Henry was waiting for her.

Emma raced into the apartment, to find almost the entire town in their living room. They were sending out a search party? Really? Wow. Emma saw that Henry was just curled up on a ball in the couch, staring out the window. Henry seemed to know the second that Emma burst through the door, because Henry sprinted up and hugged her.

Henry was followed by Mary-Margaret, David, and basically everyone else. Emma was painfully reminded of the group hug that happened when she was presented to the lost boys. Wow, deja vu.

"Emma, promise me you'll call us next time you get stuck in a storm." Mary-Margaret begged, Emma nodded. She had full intention to not cause a search party next time she goes missing.

But then again, she'd already broken one promise she made to her mother.

**A/N: Yep. That's it. Poor Ruby. So all of you will have to get used to the regular schedule now that I have made it up to you guys, so keep doing what you're doing. See you all when the sun comes out tomorrow! (Sorry, still watching the Tony Awards) **


	17. Chapter 17

**So, this is my chapter for today, and sorry I couldn't post it earlier. I'm actually reading another fanfic that is slowly but surely ripping my heart into a million pieces, so I need to put myself back together before writing my own story. But here the chapter is now. Have fun! **

Chapter 17

Emma sat in her room later that night, running over everything that had happened in the last 48 hours.

She had repaired a broken Killian. She had given him everything, and at the same time given everyone who knew her a heart attack. She had finally admitted her feelings and _done _something with them. She couldn't tell herself that she was in love with anyone until now, until her love was at his worst point and it physically hurt her. What would change? Emma knew that she couldn't become a part-time mother to Henry, but she couldn't love Killian with half her heart. She didn't want to leave Henry alone. He already lost his father, he couldn't lose Emma, too.

What was she going to do? Marry Killian? Yeah, right.

Killian didn't seem like the kind of guy who was about to be tied down to Emma, who had a kid and probably abandonment issues. Then again, they _both_ seemed to have abandonment issues, they just dealt with it differently. Emma put up a wall behind a blank face, and Killian put up a wall with flirting and sarcasm.

But even though they both had walls, there was no way that they could get _married_.

Could they?

_No!_ Emma screamed at herself. _We're not getting married_.

Suddenly, a tap came on Emma's window, and she saw Killian's face outside. What was he doing here? She told him she was going home, but she didn't expect Killian to _follow _her. What was she supposed to do? He could only stay out there for so long.

Emma shoved the window open all the way and Killian climbed in and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Hey." Emma said, shocked that he had actually climbed into her window. It was something out of a movie. "What, are you trying to be Romeo?"

"Thought I'd give it a shot. He seems to be a romantic role model in this land." Killian shrugged. "Did it work?"

The warm feeling that filled Emma gave her answer.

"Kind of." Emma admitted and smiled. "But you _are _aware that you're under the same roof as the guy who's threatened to shoot you on multiple occasions, right?"

"I don't care about him." Killian said. "I wanted to make sure you that didn't get scared and leave town."

"Hey, I already promised I wouldn't. Besides, at the moment, I don't have a ride to leave town in." Emma said. Killian cocked an eyebrow, and Emma sighed before explaining. "Henry was the first one to jump in the car when I was missing, and it may have rolled into a tree when Mary-Margaret yanked him out and didn't bother to put it in park."

Emma had been told the story later, after she got home. Mary-Margaret didn't want to tell her immediately so she wasn't shocked. They also thought that there wouldn't be Emma to explain the story to.

"Well, looks like you're stuck here." Killian said, and Emma nodded.

"I wouldn't leave even if I had the bug. I have Henry here." Emma said, and then proceeded to look deep into Killian's bright blue eyes. "And you."

"I know for a fact that a wanderer is always a wanderer. I'm living proof. Didn't you spend your late teenage years stealing things and living in the bug?" Killian countered.

"You're also living proof that love changes you." Emma said. Killian nodded.

"You win this one, Swan." Killian surrendered. Emma smiled contentedly. Emma: 1. "But tell me that you never once have wanted to leave Storybrook."

Damn it. Killian: 1.

"Okay, there was _one time_ when I wanted to leave, but a wolf was in the road. That was way before the curse was broken, though." Emma said. Killian smirked, and Emma knew that he was keeping score in his head, too. They were now tied.

"Just out of curiosity," Killian interrupted the silence. "How did you get out of punishment for being missing?"

"I had to convince someone to help." Emma admitted. Killian looked mock-taken-aback.

"Emma Swan? Asking for help? Is the world ending?" Killian asked dramatically as Emma bit her lip and tried to contain herself. She had to remind herself that her parents were in the same vicinity, but that thought kept wandering to the back of her mind, replaced by thoughts of Killian. She couldn't talk too loud, or they would wake up. Her pirate was already missing a hand and she didn't need him with a bullet hole, too.

Emma yawned, and she looked at the bedside clock. Eleven. It wasn't that late, but she had to work tomorrow.

"Look, as much as I hate to kick you out, I have to get some sleep. I have to work tomorrow. It's probably just so everyone actually knows where to find me and to make sure I don't get 'lost' again." Emma said, pushing Killian towards the window.

"What? Don't think you'll be able to sleep with me here?" Killian asked. Emma rolled her eyes and he swung one leg out of her window and sat on her windowsill.

"No. I won't be able to, and you know that. Now, time to go." Emma said and jokingly pushed his head.

"Lass, it's going to take more than that to get me out of here." Killian said. "You should know that by now."

"Is closing the window enough?" Emma asked, smiling. Her heart ached to make him leave, and it showed in her voice. She could spend an eternity with him.

"I can take a hint, love. I'm going." Killian said, putting his feet on whatever he used to get up to her window in the first place. "But if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Emma chuckled and shut the window, and they just stared at each other through the window for a minute. Emma put her hand on the window, and Killian put his hand against the other side of the window where Emma's was. Killian took his hand away, and slid into the shadows. Emma stood there for a moment more before pulling herself away from the window and getting into bed. She pulled the blankets over herself and didn't feel nearly as warm as she had before when she slept here. She thought of how warm Killian was, and smiled. Emma fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Meanwhile, just outside the door stood Mary-Margaret with a glass of water and bedhead, dressed in pajamas.

Mary-Margaret hadn't meant to spy on her daughter, honestly. She had just gotten up to get some water, and walked past her room to hear her talking. Mary-Margaret wanted to evaluate her daughter's love life. Yeah, that's what it was. Evaluation.

Mary-Margaret silently tip-toed back to bed, and realized that Ruby owed her ten bucks.

**A/N: So much for them not taking bets. But isn't it cute?! Killian totally would do that to make sure Emma didn't leave, though, don't you think? But keep doing what you're doing, and I'll see you all tomorrow! **


	18. Chapter 18

**So, I typed this last night and I was all excited and I didn't sleep. At all. All night. So, excuse my spelling since I typed this at about one thirty in the morning, because before I was watching a movie. But this is the next chapter, so enjoy! **

Chapter 18

Emma sat her desk four weeks after Killian had paid her a house visit, trying to keep her cool. It was four thirty. She only had to hold it together until five o'clock. She tried to focus on paperwork, something; anything except the recurring thought she kept having. She couldn't focus on any of the cases, though. Her anxiety was like an ever-growing rock in the pit of her stomach. With every passing second, it grew and grew and grew. Emma feared that if she didn't get moving soon, it would incapacitate her.

Even though it was only four forty five, Emma put the case file away and just shut down early. David wasn't there to stop her, so she was just going to do what she wanted. She had to settle this once and for all. This had been bugging Emma all morning, and she had brought a hoodie to the station instead of her red jacket. She pulled the hood over her head, covering her blond curls that so many had come to identify her by. No one could recognize her for what she was about to do.

She left the station and went to the nearest convenience store, and went to the last aisle to the right. The girly things. Emma rarely went there because there was makeup mixed with pads. It was weird. But this time, Emma needed something from here to ease her nervous mind. She found a First Response test and bought it, making sure to keep her eyes down and the hoodie over her hair. She was local royalty – literally – and couldn't afford anyone to recognize her and start rumors. Because rumors would get back to her parents, and that would be the end of Emma's life.

Emma knew that she couldn't take it at home, so she rushed into the back and took a deep breath. She did what she had to and waited. Emma wasn't sure what she wanted to happen. If she was pregnant, that would be amazing, but what about Henry? It would be strange for him to have a half-brother or sister, a constant reminder that Emma didn't love Neal anymore. But at the same time, it would be great for Emma to have another kid. She missed out on raising Henry, and she wanted to have the experience. It could bring her and Killian closer, which Emma wanted.

But if she wasn't pregnant, then what other explanation was there for Emma being three weeks late when the rest of her life it had been like clockwork? Was something wrong with her? She really hoped that she was normal, okay. She didn't need anything else to distinguish her from everyone else, because she was already a freaking princess. She didn't want to stick Killian with any more baggage than what he was already dealing with. Emma wanted a family.

Emma wasn't sure how long it took for the test to calculate whether she was pregnant or not, so she just sat there and waited. She waited for what seemed like an eternity. And then a little pink plus showed up. An elated smile lit up her face. She was going to have another chance to be a parent. Something caught fire inside of her soul, and Emma realized that it was hope. The baby would be one more thing for her and Killian to have. She threw the test away and tried to hide it in the folds of the trash bag.

Emma stood up, looked in the mirror and tried to comprehend what was happening. She was pregnant with Killian's child. She felt like she was going to faint, but knew that she couldn't. Not only because whoever found her would immediately know who she was and tell her parents and have the entire town just flip upside down, but also because she was so excited that she had to tell someone. She could barely contain herself. Emma managed to keep her head down and her hair hidden until she was far away from the store. She didn't even know where her feet were taking her before she saw the Jolly Roger and Killian standing at the helm looking out at the ocean. She wondered what he was thinking about.

Was he thinking about all that laid beyond her land? About Neverland and Wonderland and the Enchanted Forest? There was nothing exciting for him here, and Emma felt horrible about it. She knew that he had a bad case of wanderlust. She did too sometimes when things in town were so boring she thought she would scream. But what she was about to tell him would bring him back to the here and now.

"Killian!" She called, and he immediately snapped out of it and turned to face her. She sprinted up onto the boat, grateful that all of the other boats were abandoned, and they were all alone. This was personal and she didn't want anyone to hear but him.

"What is it, love?" Killian asked, looking deep into her eyes and looking for an unspoken answer. But Emma's eyes were probably unreadable due to all the joy that was there.

"I have news, but I'm not sure how to say it." Emma said, suddenly shaking. She was so nervous. What if Killian didn't want to be a father? What would happen to them? She couldn't stand the thought of losing Killian and raising their child alone.

"Is something wrong? If something is, you have to tell me." Killian said, taking her hand. "I'll do my best to fix it."

"No, nothing is wrong, don't worry." Emma said. "But it's just… I can't find words."

"Just tell me." Killian said, and she knew that she _could_ find the words. It was two simple little ones. Ten little letters.

"I'm pregnant." Emma whispered, and it caught on the wind to Killian's ear. There was shocked silence and Emma felt like she was going to cry. Killian had no reaction. She knew it. Emma knew somewhere in the bottom of her heart that he wouldn't want to be a father.

And then, Emma cursed herself for thinking that, because a huge smile lit up his face. Emma was so used to his smirk that his smile was almost a complete stranger to her.

"Really?" Killian asked, probably in shock. Emma nodded excitedly, and Killian hugged her. He picked her up and swung her around, her feet leaving the ground. She gripped him tightly, never wanting this moment to end. Pure joy raced through her veins like adrenaline, and she wondered if the baby knew that its mother was this happy. She liked to hope so, so even at this stage in life, the baby would know what it was like to be in true love.

"I know." Emma said, seeing the look on Killian's face. He would be a terrific father, the best one a kid could have, she knew it. Emma wondered if their kid would be as stubborn as both of them were.

"Does anyone else know?" Killian asked, and Emma shook her head.

"_I _just found out." Emma explained, and Killian nodded.

"Are you going to tell your parents?" Killian asked, and Emma felt her stomach drop to the ocean. Crap. Emma may not have gotten to raise Henry, but she didn't have to tell anyone and face the disappointed glances and the "I thought you'd have known better" speech. She would have to tell her parents eventually, but she would rather have it be as late as humanly possible. She knew that she could only keep it from them for so long.

"I have to." Emma said. "I'm going to blow up like a sail. I think they'll notice even if I don't mention it."

"Do you want me to be there?" Killian suggested. Emma was so tempted to nod, to say that she needed him by her side, but the truth was that this was something she had to do alone. She didn't want her father to kill Killian. That would be bad for the baby.

"I love you more than anything, but I have to do this on my own." Emma said. "I just thought you should be the first to know. When do I tell them?"

"Well, you said so yourself, love. You can't exactly keep it from them." Killian said. "No better time than the present."

"Easy for you to say." Emma pointed out. "You're not going to be the one they kill."

"They won't kill you, Emma. You need to stay alive for the baby. I, however, am going to have to watch my back for a while." Killian countered. Emma took a deep breath. She knew that Killian was right. She had to tell them now. Right now.

"I'm going to go back to the house and just get it over with." Emma decided. "Maybe they'll be in a good mood. I mean, they all just got off of work. Getting off of work puts you in a good mood."

"Go, Emma." Killian said, leading her back to the docks. "Just come back to me as soon as you can."

Emma nodded and took a step onto the dock.

"Thank you for taking it so well." Emma said.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shocked, but I'll get over it. Maybe around four in the morning tomorrow, but I'll get over it." Killian said solemnly. Emma shot him a worried glance. She didn't want to keep him up at night. Seeing her face, Killian smiled and laughed. "I'm happy, Emma, really. Go." He reassured her.

And that was all she had to hear.

Emma walked home, butterflies in her stomach. She pushed open the door and saw her entire family sitting around the living room, talking. Her mother and father sat together, Mary-Margaret's head on David's shoulder. Henry was sitting alone, and Emma plopped down next to him.

"Emma, you forgot your jacket today." Mary-Margaret commented and Emma just shrugged.

"I was colder than normal." Emma said, not mentioning the excellent camouflage that the hoodie was.

"Do you feel sick?" Mary-Margaret asked, and Emma shook her head. Mary-Margaret looked like she desperately wanted to make sure Emma was okay, but she held back the urge to treat Emma like a little kid.

"I actually have some important news, though." Emma said, and she felt every eye in the room turn to her. Thank God there were only six eyes that could be looking at her.

Emma took a deep breath. Like Killian said: No better time than the present.

**A/N: Okay, let's be honest for a second. We ****_all_**** knew this was coming with my imagination. I just couldn't help it, I needed to make her have another kid so she could buy another house and not be forced to stay with her parents forever. If anyone else here has my other fanfiction, ****_Daddy's Little Princess_****, I did the same thing, but closer to the end. There is no way that I'm ending this before this kid is born. I want Emma to raise a child. It's happening. And it's going to be adorable, trust me on that. Tell me what you think the baby's name should be in reviews and or any cute instances that you can think of that I can add it. Like, I have some, but I don't know if they would work. So, review with ideas! Bye! **


	19. Chapter 19

**So, you all reacted really well to the last chapter, and everyone was waiting for David's reaction. I have to admit, I had a lot of fun writing the last part. And a lot of you hate me for cliffhangers, but it keeps you guys coming back, so I know it works! :). But here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 19

It was David who spoke first.

Except it sounded more like he was choking on his own words, so all he could say was a curt, breathless: "What?"

"I'm pregnant." Emma repeated, taking a sudden interest in her shoes. She could feel Henry's eyes next to her boring a hole into her head. She couldn't even meet her mother's eyes. She knew it was nothing to be ashamed of, but both of her parents knew who the father of the baby was.

Mary-Margaret left David's side and came to Emma. Emma looked up at her mother, who just hugged her.

"Are you sure?" Mary-Margaret asked, and Emma nodded. Mary-Margaret glanced at her husband, and they seemed to have an unspoken conversation. Emma wondered if she'd ever have that with Killian.

"Um… David, do you want to take Henry out." Mary-Margaret asked, more a demand than a question. Emma felt a mother-daughter-feelings talk coming on, and she wanted to disappear. But for the first time in her life, Emma was ready to talk to her mother.

"Yeah." David said, taking a hint. David reached for something lying around that Emma couldn't see and walked over to Henry. "Come on, kid."

The door shut, and Mary-Margaret waited for a full ten seconds before she started talking.

"I'm just waiting to make sure that your father isn't eavesdropping outside the door." Mary-Margaret explained in a whisper, and Emma glanced at the door. Were her father and son seriously on the other side of that door waiting for answers?

"Would he really do that?" Emma whispered.

"I know David better than anyone, and I say with certainty that yes, he would." Mary-Margaret confirmed. Emma sat back on the couch, and suddenly she heard footsteps walking down the hallway. David really _had _been waiting out there! What?

"I can't believe he-" Emma started, but Mary-Margaret shushed her before she could continue. Silence ensued.

"Okay, he and Henry are gone now." Mary-Margaret said a few minutes after the footsteps had faded away.

"How can you tell?" Emma asked.

"Years out in the woods listening for scout soldiers and bounty hunters to pass. It gives you pretty good hearing. Ask Red." Mary-Margaret shrugged, and Emma was confused by the brief snippet of her mother's history. At the same time, though, Emma wasn't exactly surprised that Regina sent out scouts and armies and bounty hunters to find Snow.

"So…" Emma started. "What do you want to know?"

Emma knew the second that she started that sentence that she was digging her own grave.

"A lot." Mary-Margaret started. "How far along are you?"

"Four weeks." Emma admitted.

"Right around the time you went missing…" Mary-Margaret made the connection. "You didn't stay at the hotel, did you?"

Emma shook her head, while Mary-Margaret tried to fit pieces together.

"But Red said-" Mary-Margaret started, but Emma cut her off.

"I know what she said, I made her say it." Emma said. She wouldn't let her selfishness ruin her mother's and Ruby's friendship. That wasn't fair to anyone. "I pulled the _you're like my aunt and I need your help _card."

"You're not helping yourself, Emma." Mary-Margaret said, shooting her daughter a disappointed glance. Mary-Margaret could barely comprehend that Emma would manipulate Red!

"I know, but it's true." Emma said, trying to avoid her mother's gaze.

"At least you're being honest." Mary-Margaret said with a strained voice, obviously trying to find a silver lining to the situation. And there were a lot of them, but she couldn't say them. At least her daughter trusted her enough to tell her the truth. At least she was finally opening up to her family, who had always and will always be there for her. There are worse fates.

"Anything else?" Emma prompted.

"Well, I don't even need to guess who the father is. Hook." Mary-Margaret said.

_Killian_. Emma wanted to correct her mother, but Emma knew that it wouldn't help with anything. Emma was trying to figure out how to answer Mary-Margaret's questions on the spot.

"How did you figure it out?" Mary-Margaret asked.

"Took a pregnancy test in the convenience store." Emma said. "The reason I wore the hoodie was so no one would recognize me. I thought if someone saw me, you'd hear a twisted version of it."

"Smart." Mary-Margaret said. "And you wanted to tell us yourself, right?"

Emma nodded. Why did her mother know her so well? They were so different, but Mary-Margaret seemed to know Emma's motives behind everything. Maybe they were raised in different times, places, and ways, but Emma might have more of her mother in her than she originally thought.

"When did you suspect anything?" Mary-Margaret asked.

"A week ago." Emma said, remembering waking up panicked to see that she was late. And that was the first thought that popped into her head. Emma had pushed it down, but it was always there, creeping back in whenever she was trying to anything; work, sleep, it didn't matter.

"Emma." Mary-Margaret sat down. "Wow. Um… What about Henry? Isn't taking care of him enough work?"

"I'll find a way. I always have before." Emma said, and Mary-Margaret nodded.

"Where are we going to put a baby?" Mary-Margaret wondered out loud. Emma glanced around their apartment, knowing that it was already really overcrowded with four people. Yeah, they've fit more in the apartment before, but that was for minutes or a day at a time. They weren't exactly living there with five or six people.

"I don't know." Mary-Margaret said. "I seriously have _no idea_. This is a rarity, write this down, Emma."

At least Emma's mother wasn't shocked enough to lose her sense of humor.

Emma chuckled nervously. Even though this was _far _from over, Emma knew that it could be a lot worse. Mary-Margaret could be angry at her, which she probably was but was hiding very well, or she could make Emma feel guilty about it or something. For the first time, Emma was happy that Mary-Margaret was perceptive about love. Because if she wasn't, imagine how weird it would be for Emma to explain that even though she knew she was a princess, she was in love with a pirate.

That wouldn't go well. Emma could tell that it wouldn't go well at all.

Emma was silent, thinking about it for the first time. "I'll have to get my own apartment, I guess."

"Well, there isn't much real estate available here." Mary-Margaret pointed out.

"Yes, but do you want to hear your grandchild screaming in the middle of the night and get around three hours of sleep?" Emma asked. Mary-Margaret shook her head. "I didn't think so. I'll make it work."

"You say that a lot." Mary-Margaret said. Emma shrugged and responded, "It's my life. Always has been. I'm used to it."

"I wish you didn't have to be used to it." Mary-Margaret said sadly, looking at her shoes now. Emma knew that Mary-Margaret thought it wasn't fair that Emma was put through the wardrobe as a baby, but Emma knew the logic. That they would eventually be a family again.

"Yeah, well…" Emma trailed off, not knowing where to go with that sentence. Anything she said would just make Mary-Margaret feel worse.

Meanwhile, David and Henry walked away from the apartment, an angry look on David's face. His wife had outsmarted him. Again.

But Snow White did _not_ stop Prince Charming where their daughter was concerned. He wanted answers, and goddammit he was going to get some. David was the police, he knew something about interrogation.

David was seriously considering going back into the apartment and just getting a shotgun to kill Hook with. But knowing Mary-Margaret she probably locked the door to the apartment. So, he'd have to settle for the sword that he snuck out of the house while he was getting Henry out of there.

David and Henry walked out of the apartment, Henry was still comprehending that he would have a half-brother or a half-sister. It filled him with excitement, but at the same time it was… weird. Emma wouldn't be giving this baby up, wouldn't have to share him or her with another mother. Did that make Henry less to her? Did she consider him a mistake?

To snap out of those thoughts, Henry looked up at his grandfather who looked like he was out to kill.

"Um… Where are we going?" Henry asked, a little scared.

"Henry, we're going on a pirate hunt." David said, his voice icy cold. Henry was happy that they were family at this moment, because David couldn't hurt Henry if he did something wrong.

They walked to the docks, and saw the Jolly Roger. Hook was pacing around the deck. David and Henry marched up the ramp onto the deck. David had no doubt that Hook knew, and when Hook turned to face them the smile immediately went from his face.

"Oh, bloody hell." David could hear Hook mutter.

"Hook, you are about to _die_!" David called and raised the sword. The sunlight danced off the blade, making it look sharper than it actually was.

"Why would you just go and announce it?" Hook asked, and David's face actually got colder.

Hook really wasn't helping himself.

**A/N: Now you see why I had fun. My favorite line in all of that was "We're going on a pirate hunt." It is a perfect protective father line. What was your guy's favorite part? Tell me what you thought in reviews! **


	20. Chapter 20

**So, you were all excited about the last chapter and David about to kill Killian. I'm NOT that cruel, so I'm finishing that scene, and I have a pretty good idea of what I want to name the baby (or babies - I've multiple request for twins), and you all had awesome suggestions, but I love the idea behind the name I want to use. But here is the next chapter! **

Chapter 20

"Just giving you fair warning." David said charging across the deck to Hook. Hook dodged the sword easily, having much sword fighting experience himself. But since he didn't have a sword at the moment of the "surprise" attack – Killian had completely known that David was going to have a full-on freak out – his hook would have to do. It had always worked before, so Hook didn't doubt it. David almost stabbed him in the head, but Hook's hook stopped the blow, and he slid it down the sword, trying to disarm David.

Killian then remembered the last time that he fought Emma and did the exact same thing. Like father, like daughter.

Except the prince's form was better, and that was a problem. Nonetheless, the sword flew from David's hand, clattering to the deck too far to side for him to reach out and get it.

Then, something Hook never expected happened.

Henry grabbed the sword and ran with it, climbing the netting up to the crow's nest. Henry swallowed his fear, and vertigo, knowing that if David had his sword, Hook was probably going to die. And if he was Emma's true love, Henry was _not _going to let that happen.

This didn't seem to throw David off his game, though. He just tried to start strangling Hook, knowing that Hook didn't have two hands to pry David's fingers off Hook's neck.

"Calm down, mate!" Hook exclaimed, and it made David ten times more raving mad.

"You got my daughter _pregnant_!" David screamed. "Don't you _dare_ tell me calm down!"

"You think I expected this?" Hook asked, incredulous. When he was with Emma that night, a kid was the last thing on his mind. David stayed silent, so Hook took that as incentive to keep talking. "Trust me, I didn't. But it's happening! And I love her. So no matter how much you hate me and how different we seem, you'll have to get over it. For Emma. You think I wanted to fall for a princess? I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. From the first time I saw her, I _knew_. And she knew somewhere, too. It just took her longer to see it."

David realized that Hook was sincere. And Hook realized that David was no longer trying to kill him. Progress. Hook continued.

"I love Emma, and I would walk to the ends of the earth for her. And no matter what you think of me, I'm sticking around, _mate_. Live with it." Hook finished, and he knew that he meant every word. David was struck silent. It seemed that everyone had forgotten about Henry, but he was sitting in the crow's nest the entire time, listening to Hook's rant.

Suddenly, Henry dropped the sword from the crow's nest, sending it spiraling down to the deck. Henry realized his mistake and his stomach dropped to the floor.

_Hook's gonna die_. Henry realized. _And it's all _my _fault! _

But David didn't pick up the sword. David was too busy realizing that Emma had found her true love, and who was he to keep that from her? Yeah, Hook was a pirate. But when Charming first met Snow, she was a thief. He never imagined that they'd get married and have Emma. There really was no choosing in this matter of true love. There was also a reason that it was the most powerful magic of all. It makes people do things that they'd never think of normally. And Hook loved Emma.

David thought of Emma as his baby, and maybe that had to change.

Six Weeks

Two weeks later, Emma wakes up feeling exhausted.

_You're using all my energy_. Emma scolded her unborn baby, and shuffled out of her bed. She glanced in the mirror and felt her stomach lurch. She got really dizzy and felt her stomach turn in knots. She knew immediately what was about to happen, she had the internet. Morning sickness. That was a great way to start out the day.

Emma stumbled over to the toilet, tripped and felt her head spinning. She must've fallen hard, because Emma heard someone knock on the door. Emma felt too sick to do anything except sit on the floor and wait for it to pass. That was all she could do. But then she heard who was knocking.

"Mom?" Henry called from outside the bathroom.

"What, Henry?" Emma called back, hoping she didn't sound as pathetic to her son as she sounded to herself.

"Are you okay? I heard someone fall." Henry replied.

"I'm fine, Henry." Emma called, not sounding it at all. And then the morning sickness finally came.

"I'm getting Grandma." Henry said, and she heard footsteps running away down the hall. Thank God that Henry was somewhat perceptive when it came to stuff like this. Emma knew that it was awkward for him, but he was being really supportive about it.

Mary-Margaret burst into the bathroom in a matter of seconds, and said, "Oh, God." Mary-Margaret shut the door, went over to Emma and started rubbing circles around her back. It passed just as quickly as it had come, but that didn't mean that Emma still wasn't shaken. She didn't throw up on a normal basis, so her mind was spinning. She looked up at her mother, who was sitting on the bathroom floor and hugging her.

Emma thought back to when morning sickness hit her in prison. When she had to go through it alone. She didn't have anybody except the baby growing inside of her, and she was bitter about it. She tried not to get too attached to unborn Henry, because she knew that she would have to give up the baby the moment that it was born. But now she was getting a second chance.

"Emma, are you feeling better?" Mary-Margaret asked. Emma nodded, not really sure that she was telling the truth. She didn't feel better, but she knew that once she was engrossed in figuring out a case, she would.

"Thanks." Emma said. "For everything."

"I'm your mother." Mary-Margaret pointed out. "It's kind of what I do."

Mary-Margaret stood up and extended a hand to Emma. She gratefully took it, and waited for a bout of dizziness to pass by leaning against the wall.

"You know, you don't have to go to work today." Mary-Margaret offered. Emma shook her head. Emma knew that she had to focus on something or she'd go insane. That's what happened in jail when she was pregnant with Henry. There was nothing to do but stare at a blank wall, so she started doing weird things. Like talking to the baby. It was a weird experience, talking to something that couldn't talk back yet.

"I just have to get dressed." Emma protested and went back to her room, where she pulled on jeans. They had fitted her fine before, but now they were getting tighter by the day. She really wasn't looking forward to breaking out the stretchy pants, but she knew that day was coming.

It wasn't uncomfortable for her to sit down, so she knew that she could work. She got up and walked out of the apartment. Downtown wasn't exactly _ever _bustling in Storybrook, but there were a fair amount of people out. All of them were going to work, no doubt, but that didn't mean that they didn't give Emma a sideways glance. It wasn't announced to everyone in town that Emma was with child, but being a princess also came with having absolutely no privacy. In a small town, things spread quickly anyway, though. Even if Storybrook wasn't filled with fairytale characters and she wasn't a princess, everyone would still know.

Emma walked into Granny's to get a coffee, but stopped dead in her tracks. Not only was she able to smell everything that everyone was eating all at once – not too pleasant – but everyone in the dinner looked her way. It was silent, and Emma knew that everyone had _just _been talking about her. It was just that kind of shocked silence. Like everyone in the dinner had been caught guilty of gossiping and were just about to say: _Emma? What are you doing here?_ After a couple seconds, everyone stopped staring and continued with their conversations, which Emma could hear now had nothing to do with her.

"Hey, Emma." Ruby said from behind the counter. "What are you going to order?"

"Um… Just a coffee." Emma said. She leaned across the counter and whispered to Ruby, "Is everyone like this all over?"

"Well, you kind of _are _the talk of the town." Ruby said, giving Emma a smile. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Emma replied in monotone. She'd been congratulated so many times that it was on her automatic response list. If she had no idea what someone said, she would just say "Thanks" and hope it sounded considerate. But she had no idea what everyone was congratulating her for. What was it supposed to be? Congratulations on feeling like constant crap and not being able to get anything done ever?

Whoever came up with that should be shot.

Emma wondered how many pregnant women ever thought that as she sat at the counter for a second. In that second, though, Regina came up to pay for whatever she was eating.

"Hello, Emma." Regina said.

"Hello." Emma replied, trying to be curt. That's where the conversation should've ended, but Regina continued.

"I heard about your… _recent events_," Regina shot a glance at Emma's abdomen. "and I just wanted to offer for Henry to stay at my house once the baby comes. I'm sure you know how much he needs his sleep. Plus, I _would _like to see him again."

"Regina, I'll have to think about it. I'll ask Henry what he thinks and get back to you." Emma offered, trying to be vague. She didn't want to get Regina's hopes up too much in case Henry said he didn't want to stay with Regina.

"Thank you." Regina said, a small smile on her face. Regina then left, and Ruby handed Emma a coffee in a to-go cup.

"Sheesh." Ruby said. "You're going to let Henry stay with her?"

"I don't know." Emma said. "Life is going to be pretty hectic once the baby comes, but I don't know why Regina is worrying about that _now_. I've got a while to go."

"Yeah." Ruby commented. "Have a good day."

"I'll try." Emma said and smiled.

**A/N: So, do you guys think it's good? I'm trying to channel being pregnant, but I'm not good at that, so I looked it up on the internet. Close enough? Good? Okay. Now, what was you're favorite part? Do you think I should let Henry stay with Regina? I don't know about that. I'll leave it up to you guys in reviews! Bye! **


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey, so I know it's later than usual, but I'm working on something... A BOOK! I'm SO CLOSE... Literally typing the last ten pages. And you're all going to hate me, because I have terrible news at the end of the chapter. But enjoy the chapter! If you can infer things, you'll know the gender of Emma's baby(or babies) :). **

Chapter 21

Emma walked into the station and realized that she should probably look up what she was and wasn't allowed to eat. She pulled out her computer and googled _what can pregnant women eat and drink?_

She was shocked by the answer.

_Okay. _Emma thought, shocked at the extremely long list. _So I can't eat or drink eggs, juice that isn't pasteurized, some fish, and I have to heat up my sandwich if it has deli meat in it. Why would I want a sandwich with_warm _meat in it? I mean, why can't I just eat a burger? _

Emma kept reading and saw that she should only have _some _coffee.

_Some? _Emma thought, glancing at the to-go cup that was her lifeblood. _How much is some? _

Emma took one sip and promptly threw it away. She wasn't going to risk this baby, no matter picky it happened to be. Her stomach growled, and Emma grabbed an apple from a basket she started keeping on her desk. She seemed to be constantly hungry, she decided that maybe she should start keeping snacks on her desk so she didn't have to _always_ get up to get something to eat.

She took a bite of the apple and realized something that almost made her start laughing. Her mother's story that was edited for children was about the apple getting stuck in her throat. Emma put the apple down and pulled out a case file. Nothing serious, a small-scale robbery, and she just couldn't get herself into it. She kept thinking about the baby, no matter how much she tried to do anything else. She wasn't sure what she wanted, a boy or a girl.

Emma hoped more than anything that the child got Killian's eyes. His bright blue eyes that she could never stop staring at. She hoped that the child had some of her, but not too much. She was dull in comparison to Killian.

At lunchtime, Emma came to terms with the fact that there was nothing getting done and she might as well be at home. She locked up the station and walked home, pretty confident that Storybrook wouldn't burn down in five hours.

Emma went to the apartment and pushed the door open to see that it was empty. She immediately went to the fridge and made herself a sandwich. She reached for the ham before remembering.

_Right_. Emma sighed. _Only _heated _deli meat._

She just decided that she would peanut butter and jelly. The website said nothing bad about that, so what the hell? True, she felt like a little kid, but whatever. Emma was suddenly tired, so she went to her room to take a nap. But, of course, as soon as her head hit the pillow she couldn't shut her eyes. She was in little kid mode, taking naps and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. What to do now?

Emma got the stupid idea of something she could never do as a kid. But she had the opportunity now. Go through her mother's jewelry.

Now, Mary-Margaret was never a necklace person, so Emma didn't expect to find much. So, when there was nothing obvious, Emma wasn't disappointed. But, Emma was persistent, and found a jewelry box. In the little sterling silver jewelry box that Emma had never seen, she found one single necklace. It seemed very old, and definitely not from Emma's land. From the Enchanted Forest. The chain seemed snapped, so Emma held it over her palm to make sure it didn't drop. The pendant started swinging on its own. Emma was so shocked that she almost dropped it. It must've had magic. She almost put it back, but she stared at it in shock for a second. What was it doing?

It swung across her palm up to down, and then left to right, like a conductor instructing a band. And it kept a steady rhythm, as if trying to tell her a message that she couldn't hear in a language that she didn't know. Emma very gently laid the necklace back in the box, and promptly left back to the living room.

Emma sat there in silence for a while, trying to comprehend what had just happened. The pendant on the necklace started swinging _on its own_. Like, what was this? _Paranormal Activity Six: Storybrook_? No, there had to be some kind of reasonable explanation. Like, maybe Emma's hand had been shaking, and she had just freaked out and turned nothing into something huge. And she couldn't exactly ask Mary-Margaret without admitting that she had gone through her jewelry box. And Emma sensed that it was really important to her mother, that was the reason that it was the only jewelry that she owned here. She probably didn't want Emma to go through her stuff, anyway.

Emma tried to busy herself in the world of the internet, but nothing seemed that amusing to her. She couldn't distract herself. If all she thought about was the baby, then this was going to be a _long _nine months. Emma decided that it was time to visit Killian. She hadn't seen him in two weeks because of the business and… it was just time to pay him a visit.

She locked the apartment and walked out into the rain, and realized that she might have to run to the ship in order to not get soaked.

Emma started sprinting, grateful that everyone was in work. If anyone knew she was cutting work to see Killian, they would have her head. And since she lived in a world of fairytale characters, they might be entirely serious.

She didn't see him on the deck, so she ran up the ramp and knocked on his cabin door. He immediately answered and ushered her in.

"To what do I owe the visit, Princess?" Killian asked, and Emma rolled her eyes. He would never stop calling her Princess as long as he lived. It bugged her too much.

"Just got off work, thought I'd drop by." Emma smiled, and she hugged him. "But I need to know something."

"What?" Killian asked.

"How did my dad react when he saw you?" Emma asked. Killian didn't seem physically hurt and his ego didn't seem injured, so what kept him away from her lately?

"Well, first your father announced that he was going to kill me and then came charging at me with a sword. I disarmed the sword and Henry took it away and ran up to the crow's nest. Then David started trying to choke me. I think he took it _quite _well." Killian smirked. Emma's eyes went wide. Her dad _chocked _Killian? Henry was in the crow's nest? What?

"Henry was in the _crow's nest_?" Emma asked in shock. "He could've fallen and _died_!"

"I was a little busy staying alive myself to worry about that." Killian said. "I have him to thank, though. Him taking the sword let me get my little speech in."

"What speech?" Emma asked. Killian was good with words, but it was usually sarcasm.

"About how much I love you and how David isn't scaring me away." Killian said and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Emma smiled.

"You better not be going anywhere." Emma said. "I'll just have to track you down somehow." Emma used Killian's words from their first morning after the bird-hunter night. Emma then looked really closely at his eyes, and noticed there were dark circles under them. They didn't away from his eyes' beauty, but it was just different.

"You haven't been sleeping?" Emma guessed, and Killian shook his head. "Well, I haven't been sleeping well, either. Little one is taking all of my energy."

"Do you think you know what it is?" Killian asked, and Emma shrugged.

"I'd have to get an ultrasound, I guess." Emma said, and Killian cocked his head confused. "It's this thing where… You know, you'll just have to come along. But anyway, you see the baby before it's born."

"Alright, but no swords." Killian said, and Emma nodded.

"Well, you already beat my dad once." Emma pointed out. There was silence, and Emma just _had _to ask. "Where were you for the last two weeks?"

"I was here. Lass, I figured the crowd needed to thin out before I could come in." Killian said, and Emma sighed but agreed. She still was getting bombarded, and Killian already wasn't widely popular. Maybe it was better for him to stay on the ship for a while until she was further along. It would give people more time to accept it. Let it become yesterday's news. Then, Killian could enter the scene.

"I missed you." Emma admitted. She'd sat alone for two weeks thinking nothing of except that maybe Killian had left. She was almost in tears at that point. Life without Killian was unthinkable. But now that she knew what he was thinking, she understood his point of view. He wanted to fly under the radar for a while. Emma wished she could do that right about now.

**A/N: SO, HAVE YOU ALL COME TO A CONCLUSION ABOUT THE BABY (OR BABIES)? Give me your best guess in reviews! And I got a lot of comments that pregnant women shouldn't drink coffee, and I'll admit that I wrote the last chapter before I looked anything up... Stupid me. I'll do my research next time, promise. But here is the terrible news: I will be going to camp for three weeks and I can't bring my computer and even if I could I wouldn't have internet connection. So, keep a look out for alerts because I will see you all in three weeks at least. That's right, no updates for three weeks. *shys away from screaming crowd* Please don't track me down and come to my camp with pitchforks and force me to write! I'm sorry, really I am. But I'll see you all in three weeks! **


	22. Chapter 22

**GUYS! I'M BACK FROM MY SOLITUDE! I'm just kidding. My camp was awesome, and I already miss all the people in my bunk so much I might actually cry. But to make myself feel better, I've continued writing this fic. And I think that the ending is adorable and yeah. Enjoy! **

Chapter 22

Ten Weeks

Emma stared into her closet in dismay. Not that she was ever a fashion queen or anything, but she _was _fond of her jeans, and she realized that she couldn't wear them anymore because they were so uncomfortable. Emma hadn't had a sip of coffee in four weeks, she didn't know what her feelings were doing – they seemed to have a mind of their own these days – and now she had to give up her jeans?

She sighed and pulled out jeans with a stretchy waistband from a drawer in her dresser. She thought that she wouldn't need these until much later. Preferably _much, much _later.

Emma walked out of her room into the living room, and nearly had a freaking heart attack.

She saw Killian sitting on the couch.

Her voice stuck in her throat, and it took her a minute to articulate her thoughts. It's not that she was unhappy that Killian finally showed up, but she liked her Killian – for lack of a better word – breathing. At least he was finally here and not afraid of being a father. That's always good.

"There you are, love." Killian said and rushed off the couch. He pulled her into a gentle embrace and his lips brushed hers. Emma got the feeling of the warmness in her stomach and the spark where their lips touched.

"What are you doing here?" She asked when the kiss ended.

"Well, the crowd thinned. Thought it was time I should start helping out." Killian said, and Emma smiled. She was ready to not be on her own anymore.

Then something occurred to Emma. The door was shut and there was no sign of forced entry, and the kitchen window was open.

"Please tell me you didn't climb the building and no one else knows you're here." Emma pleaded, and Killian smirked.

"Did you know your entire family sleeps like rocks?" Killian asked, and Emma smacked him on the arm. "I'm kidding. Henry let me in. I think he went back to sleep because he told me not to touch anything and shuffled away. His feet never left the ground."

"God, Killian. I seriously thought… I mean, you've broken in this house before." Emma said. Killian shook his head.

"You can only do that once with one hand, Swan. Let me tell you, _not fun_. I'm going to try to be more… legal." Killian admitted. Emma suddenly heard footsteps coming from down the hallway, and she snapped her head in that direction to see who it was. She sighed in relief when it was only Mary-Margaret, not David. Emma knew for a fact that David _didn't _do mornings well, much like the rest of the family – maybe it was genetic – and seeing Killian at the crack of the day_ may _not have been the correct thing. Mary-Margaret was much more calm and understanding about it.

"Emma, I have something amazing. I've been waiting for six weeks, you have to let me do this." Mary-Margaret excitedly explained, an ecstatic smile across her face. She didn't even seem tired despite the fact that it was only around six thirty in the morning. Mary-Margaret's hand was in a fist, and she looked like she was about to explode with anticipation. She brought her hand up to Emma's line of vision and uncurled her fingers. Sitting in Mary-Margaret's palm was the necklace that Emma had found in the silver jewelry box four weeks ago. Thankfully, when Emma dropped it, the necklace didn't break and Mary-Margaret seemed none the wiser that Emma had been snooping.

"What's this?" Emma asked, staring at the necklace.

"Something from the Enchanted Forest, probably." Killian piped up. Mary-Margaret seemed to notice him for the first time, and she looked between him and Emma a couple times before speaking again.

"Am I interrupting someth-" Mary-Margaret started and tried to back out of the room. But Emma's curiosity was peaked. She wanted to know what that necklace did.

"No. No no. You're fine." Emma said. "What were you so excited about?"

"Well," Mary-Margaret continued, the smile creeping back onto her face. "I was given this by your grandmother. Needless to say, not Regina. Ruth, David's mother, had this necklace enchanted and it can tell the gender of your baby before it's born. You have to hold out your hand and depending on the way it swings, you can tell if the baby is a boy or a girl. I just thought… Maybe I could see?"

Emma was about to point out that a sonogram serves the exact same purpose, but Mary-Margaret looked so happy that Emma couldn't say it.

Emma held out her palm, and Mary-Margaret held the necklace. It swung the same way it did when Emma was holding it before. Up to down to left to right. What did that mean? It still didn't make _any _sense whatsoever.

"I think I know what that is." Mary-Margaret whispered in shock.

"What?" Emma asked. "I feel like I'm missing something."

"Emma, if the necklace swings north to south, it means a boy. If it swings east to west, it's a girl. But it's swinging _both ways_. That must mean that there is a girl _and _a boy. Twins." Mary-Margaret explained, her voice rising steadily. She pulled Emma into a hug. "You're having _twins_!"

"I'm having… twins?" Emma chocked out. Oh, God. She already had one kid, and now she was having_ two_ more?

Emma glanced back at Killian, who was just staring at her in open-mouthed surprise. His bright blue eyes were as wide as dinner plates. What was he thinking? Was he scared again? Emma was.

Emma stared down at her stomach, finding it hard to believe that despite the tiny change there were _two_ growing babies in it. A brother and a sister for Henry. She hadn't really been thinking about the gender of the baby on account of how far away it was to actually being born. But now that Emma knew, she was excited. She was going to have another son and her first daughter. What would having a daughter be like? How would she raise her? Emma couldn't exactly ask her mother for advice on this now could she?

"Guess we don't have to go for an ultrasound now." Emma said, and Mary-Margaret laughed and hugged her again. And then another set of footsteps came down the hall. Emma was so happy and excited that she could barely breathe. She didn't even care if it _was _David waking up.

It was Henry.

"Kid, what are you doing up so early?" Emma asked. Henry yawned before answering.

"I heard you talking." Henry said. "You could wake the dead."

Emma rolled her eyes. She knew that her son was being honest because it was _six thirty in the morning_. There was no room for being sarcastic when exhaustion took up residence. Emma knew that well enough.

"Go back to sleep. I'll tell you something in the morning if you back to sleep right now." Emma bent to Henry's eye level and promised. Henry nodded tiredly and shuffled away, a small smile on his face. Henry knew, and he was about to show it. Emma could tell. He turned around for a second.

"So, Grandma, do you want to name the girl twin Eva or Ruth?" Henry asked and turned back towards his room and went back down the hall.

**A/N: See I told you it was cute! I can't even... But I have to keep writing. But if any of you are interested in what I did (very few, I assume) in my two weeks away, they are as follows: **

**Went to a spy museum and an art museum in Baltimore, Was a major role in a play, Was in a showcase, two concerts and a video, made a photogram, and completed two chapters of a novel! I feel so accomplished... but I know I'm not. **


	23. Chapter 23

**Hi! I think I missed yesterday and stuff happened and it was really stressful and stuff so if I missed yesterday can someone tell me in comments? Thanks! But I'm going to stop blabbing and get on with the chapter! **

Chapter 23

Fourteen Weeks

Emma woke up feeling the most energetic that she had been feeling in a month.

It was amazing, to actually have energy. To feel like she could actually get something done instead of not being able to do anything but curl up in a ball and fall asleep. Emma jumped out of bed and got dressed. She might not have been able to wear real jeans anymore, but the maternity jeans were still pretty comfortable.

Emma looked in the mirror in the bathroom and was shocked to see what she looked like. There were bags under her eyes and her hair made it look like she stuck her finger in a light socket at midnight or something. But Emma just yanked a hairbrush through her hair and pulled it back. She just didn't feel like dealing with it today. It wasn't worth it. She wasn't going to let her hair ruin her day.

Besides, she had a… okay, it wasn't a date, but she was going sailing with Killian. Well, maybe it was a date.

Oh man, she had a date. It's been a long time since she could say that.

She knew that maybe she should be sitting on her butt and doing nothing for the sake of the healthiness of the baby, but she just got so bored that she had to do something or she would go insane. Quickly.

She pulled on sneakers just as she heard a knock on the door. Emma smiled. Killian had been coming by more and more often, and David has – gasp – just accepted the fact that Emma loved Killian and _stopped trying to kill him_. It was hilarious to see them try to make conversation. Emma reminisced on a time that Killian was asking David if he could borrow a roll of duct tape for something – Emma explained it to Killian and he was enthralled by it – and David said that instead of using scissors to cut it, David could use his sword. Killian basically grabbed the duct tape and laughed his way out of the house. But now he was here to pick up Emma.

Happiness rushed through Emma's body and she stood up to get the door. She flung it open and saw him standing there waiting. A smile broke out across his face as soon as their eyes met.

"Ready, love?" Killian asked. Emma nodded, and heard her father's voice.

"I expect her back by eight." David said. Emma rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Do I look like I'm in middle school, Dad?" Emma argued.

"If only you were." David answered, and he got a faraway look in his eye. Emma knew exactly what he was thinking. What he was wishing for. And she didn't want to keep looking at it. She turned to face Killian instead, her escape. She was good at escaping her problems and she knew it. If that was one of the verses in "If You're Happy and You Know It", she would be clapping.

Sensing Emma's discomfort, Killian broke the silence. And Emma was eternally grateful.

"Let's go." Killian said and shut the door. Emma walked next to him, resisting the urge to grab his hand. That was just too cliché, and she wasn't in a cheesy romantic comedy novel or a TV show or something.

They walked through town together, and no one did a double take. It had become almost normalcy. You'd just walk down the street and think: _There's Granny's, I'm getting the hell away from the Pawn Shop and there's Emma and Hook again._

Emma didn't feel like she had to hide any more, and it was a good feeling.

The _Jolly Roger _was at its usual spot, and Emma couldn't stand walking anymore. She was too excited. Emma was like a little kid in a candy store, a hop in her step, and she almost broke into a run. The calm part of her brain was like: _baby baby baby!_ And so she slowed down. Killian led Emma onto the boat, jokingly offering his hand.

_Jeez_. Emma thought. _I'm not made of glass_.

She knocked his hand aside and slowly hopped down onto the deck. She felt a surge of panic, but then remembered that she was still working, she should be able to hop a few feet onto a wood deck. She was getting stressed out for nothing. And stress was very bad for pregnancy, she knew that for a fact. She remembered a basic fact that she used a lot when running from the law with Neal. Calm people live longer.

So Emma was trying to stay as calm as possible.

Killian was standing at the helm, and Emma quickly went to join him. She knew a lot about steering cars, but not much about steering ships. She might want to learn that so she didn't, ya know, crash them into the shore or something. That would put a damper on the day.

"Can I steer?" Emma asked, and Killian nodded.

"But we might want to go somewhere less…" Killian trailed off, trying to find the right word. "populated."

"So I'm getting Sailor's Ed." Emma clarified, and Killian shrugged.

"Whatever you want to call it, Swan." Killian said and the sails filled with wind. The ship lurched forward, and she gazed out over Storybrook. Emma walked down and away from the helm. She wanted to stand at the bow of the ship and have a _Titanic_ moment, but that went back to the _I'm not in a movie_ thing. She would be leaving everything for just a little while. Even though she knew that she lived in a town where any kid would have thought that they died and went to heaven, it was almost too much. She needed something normal. Like a WalMart or something that normal people have. She doubted many people fought dragons. Actually, she was pretty positive. And Emma knew that there were other sailors, even though they probably weren't sailing a pirate that was older than America itself. She just has to accept the little things.

Storybrook faded into the horizon, leaving nothing but open sea on all sides.

"Swan!" Killian called, and Emma turned. She went back to the helm. Excitement fluttered in her stomach, and she put her hands on the wheel. Killian went out in front of her and pointed at the sides. He pointed to the left. "This is the port side!" He called. He pointed to the right and explained that it was called the starboard.

"So, I can't get those mixed up, right?" Emma called, going over it in her head. Left equals port, right equals starboard. Okay.

"I wouldn't recommend it." Killian said as he came closer. "But you're smarter than that."

"Thanks." Emma said, smiling at the ground to stop him from seeing her blush. It was weird. She was in love with him, but she still didn't want him to see her _blush_. She is carrying his child! Why isn't she more comfortable with him?

"Want to turn?" Killian asked. Emma asked, and she jerked the wheel quickly to the left, which caused the boat to pitch and Killian to almost end up on the deck. "That was a horrible idea."

"You're telling me." Emma said, who was clutching the wheel for dear life trying to defy gravity and stand upright.

"You have your mother's chin and your father's horrible steering skills." Emma heard Killian mutter.

**A/N: I liked the chapter. But I can be a bit biased, can't I? Anyway someone tell me if I missed a chapter yesterday and thanks! **


	24. Chapter 24

**HELLO! IT'S MEEE! I might not be your favorite person right now, but I'm sorry. Busy stuff. PSAT stuff. If you don't what that is, then you are very lucky.I mean, and I told myself that I'd watch all of Doctor Who- that took up a lot of time. And since OUAT started again, I figured that I should maybe continue this. But yeah, remember. Emma is sixteen weeks pregnant, and you know what that means (if you don't, go look it up)! This was such a fun chapter to write! **

Chapter 24

Sixteen Weeks

Emma was glowing. Literally, her skin was starting to "glow" because of her pregnancy. It was exciting and everything, but it didn't make her _feel _any different, so she could never tell.

She knew that she was gaining weight, but she was watching it by not eating junk food all the time. Instead, she was eating a_ lot _of fruit. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't reach for a banana or an orange. It was a good idea she put that basket of apples on her desk at work a while ago.

Emma was snapped out of her thoughts by Henry's footsteps echoing down the hallway.

"Hey, mom." Henry said and walked to the kitchen to grab his backpack. He was always leaving his school stuff all over the place. Emma never really had a problem with it, because she was really disorganized, too. So was Neal, now that she came to think about it. It was probably better that they didn't have anything to keep track of, because it would probably get lost. Maybe it was genetic.

"Hey, kid." Emma responded and gave her son a hug. "What's up?"

"I'm late for school." Henry said. "And I have a big project presentation at school. I left the project at school overnight, but don't worry because it's done."

"Okay." Emma shrugged.

Henry was rushing out the door, but Emma managed to get one goodbye kiss on his head. He was moving really fast today. Emma remembered school and tried not to laugh. She never really put much effort into any one school because she always thought that she would be gone within the month, anyway. She was proud that her son was doing well. She was always proud of that.

And then she was left alone. She just didn't feel like going to work today and let David take over. It was just one of those days. Plus, she had something important to do today as well. David was just starting to accept her being pregnant, and he was kind of – dare she say it – happy and helpful about it. He's come a long way from wanting to turn her pirate into a Killian-kabob to taking over her shifts at work so she could take the day off.

Emma sat down for a second, relishing in the silence of the empty house. It was the first time in a while that she'd had real privacy. But she couldn't enjoy it for long, she realized. She glanced at the clock on the stove, and saw that it read 8:30. Crap. She was almost late. It's a good thing almost everything in town is walking distance away from each other.

She grabbed her coat and headed out the door. She started walking towards the hospital, excitement fluttering in her stomach. At least, she thought it was excitement. Emma was going to get a sonogram today, just to see what was going on and that everything was okay. Besides, she wanted to see if the necklace was correct.

And she'd have Killian there, so that would make it all the better. That's the reason she had David specifically take her work shift. He was much more accepting – see previous mentioning – but better safe than sorry.

Emma was down the street before she started thinking about how lucky she was, just this once. All of her life, she had always been _that poor foster kid_ or _that poor woman that has to give up her child _or something like that. But now she was finally going to have a _norm_- okay, as normal of a life as she could possibly have under the circumstances. Close enough. She was finally going to get her happy ending.

_Or will I?_ Emma realized, almost stopping dead in her tracks. The thought just crept into the back of her mind like a ninja of despair and terror.

She'd never had an easy life, and there was no way that anything was _this _perfect. Yeah, she might have the fairytale family, but _nothing _could be this perfect just by chance. You have to work for perfect.

Emma immediately thought of all the things that could be wrong with the little ones in her stomach.

_Heart problems, they could be hurting each other, they could be forming wrong. _Emma thought, her eyes going wide as dinner plates. _Oh, god god god god. _

Emma didn't even want to get the sonogram anymore. So many things could be happening and could be bad.

_Take a deep breath. _Emma instructed herself, realizing how insane she sounded. _Nothing is wrong. Nothing. I would know_.

Emma resumed walking, trying to think only happy thoughts. Like how she was much luckier than her own mother, who didn't have the technology that Emma has.

She entered the hospital, trying to keep her breathing steady. So much could be wrong, but so much could be right. The babies could have all their fingers and toes and be beautiful and healthy and perfect.

_Beautiful, healthy and perfect_. Emma repeated the four words over and over in her head like a mantra. She walked through the door to the hospital, still repeating the words. It was one of the only things keeping her alive.

That, and the fact that Killian was sitting right by the door, waiting for her to arrive.

She could tell that he had barely slept, but he looked as calm as he could. He was probably trying to stay calm for her sake, she realized. He could always read her like an open book, and now would be no exception.

"Ready?" He asked, holding out his hand. She smiled, took his hand and answered completely honestly.

"Not the slightest bit." She said cheerfully.

"Apparently you're already checked in. You sure aren't watching via spies or something?" Killian asked.

"Honestly, I wouldn't put it past my dad." I admitted.

"Where is he?" Killian asked.

"Taking my shift at the station." She answered, and saw Killian smirk. "I'm trying to prevent World War III here, okay?"

"That's good. You'd launch much more than a thousand ships, love." Killian said, and Emma blushed, looking at her feet.

"But _The Jolly Roger _would give them all a run for their money, right?" She joked, and Killian looked mock offended.

"You had to question it?" He asked dramatically. "You wound me, Swan."

"It's what I live for." Emma said and rolled her eyes. They walked into the room, where they saw a female doctor waiting in the swivel chair next to the screen.

"Hello." The doctor said.

"Hello." The couple responded, and Emma took a deep breath. Flashbacks from prison were breaking through her memory, and she almost had to bite her lip. Walking in here alone, the guard standing at the door as if she could run away. But the worst part of getting her first sonogram was that she _knew _that she couldn't keep the kid. She tried not to look at the screen and get attached. At that moment almost twelve years ago, Emma wanted nothing more than to get out of the sonogram room. Now, she was there willingly. As much as she hated to admit it, things could change.

"How far along are you?" She asked, and Emma responded with: "Sixteen weeks."

"This is going to be cold, okay?" The doctor warned her, and Emma nodded. She'd done this before, she could do it again. But then, her fears reared their ugly heads.

_Beautiful, healthy and perfect. _She repeated, trying to assuage her fears. Killian must've seen the look on her face, because he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

_Damn, I really _am _an open book. _Emma silently cursed.

She had to resist sucking in a breath at how cold the gel really was. The roller worked its way across her stomach, and she looked at the screen expectantly. Nothing was showing up yet, and it was probably the most stressful moment of her life. She could keep these babies, and she wanted to make sure they were okay. Emma didn't want to risk losing them.

The screen blinked on, and she saw two little forms on it. She beamed and looked at Killian, who was just staring at the screen in shock. In that moment, it felt more real than it had for the rest of the pregnancy. Through the fatigue, morning sickness, and everything else, it had seemed more like a dream. She was terrified that she would wake up any second back in Neverland, and have dreamed the whole thing. Now she was sure that it was real. Every second.

**A/N: SEE! I had way too much fun with that. But just remember that I am here, and writing when I don't have play practice or homework, or starting my novel for NNWM (national novel writing month). See you next time! **


	25. Chapter 25

**Hi! So, I have the next chapter for you! It's adorable, if short. I just... I can't deal with all of the feels I'm giving myself. I mean, true, it took me watching ****_Pride and Prejudice _****to finish this chapter, but I did it! Here you go! **

Chapter 25

The silence was broken by Killian asking: "That's our babies? They look more like the Loch Ness Monster."

Emma started laughing and hit him on the arm.

"God." She said. "Can you go two minutes without saying something offensive?"

"Probably not. I mean, I could. But it wouldn't be as much fun." He shrugged. "I'm just kidding, lass."

"I know." Emma sighed. "Look at them." She turned her attention back to the screen.

"I can tell the gender, if you want to know." The doctor piped up, and Emma couldn't resist nodding. She just wanted to see if her mother's necklace was anything other than hype or excitement or something.

"Well, there are twins. And one looks like a girl and one looks like a boy. One of each." The doctor said, and Emma was ecstatic.

"Wow… She was right." Emma whispered so quietly almost no one could hear it. "Thank you." Emma said to the doctor.

"You're welcome." She smiled. "Now, they look healthy. Would you like to get a picture?"

"No." Emma and Killian answered in unison. That was just… well it was weird, in her opinion. To have a picture of a baby before it is a baby just seemed wrong for some reason. Plus, she didn't really want to have to explain it to her parents.

"In that case, you're good to go." The doctor said, and Emma stood up quickly before almost falling back over. The world went spinning all around her, and she sat back down for a second. Killian was immediately concerned, but the doctor just looked normal and said: "That'll happen. Her blood pressure is low, but it is supposed to be. Don't worry about it."

"Are you okay, Swan?" He asked, and Emma nodded. She didn't want him to worry about her when he didn't have to.

"I'm fine, listen to the doctor and _don't worry_." She tried to reassure him, and stood up. They walked out of the hospital, and back to her apartment. But he was gripping her hand really tightly, like she was made of china or something.

"I think you're cutting off circulation to my fingers." Emma pointed out, noticing that the top of her pinky had a purple-ish shade to it.

"Just in case, love." He said, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Remember, I'm the same girl who yanked you out of an exploding cave. I can handle some dizziness." Emma reminded him. "Why don't you go back to the ship? I can take care of myself."

"Fine. But there's something I want to show you there." He said and started pulling her towards the _Jolly Roger. _

"Is it important?" Emma asked. "Because David might want to get off my shift, or-"

"Very important, Emma." Killian said and smiled mysteriously.

Emma wondered what exactly he was going to show her. She knows the ship like the back of her hand, having been on it for so long in Neverland. Honestly, sometimes she thought that she knew it better than the captain. There wasn't much to become familiar with. It was a big ship, but almost the entire bottom half of the hull was used for storage. Everything from gold to – you guessed it – rum.

"Okay." She shrugged and followed him back to _The Jolly Roger_.

From a distance, it didn't look any different. Even as she was standing on the deck, it nothing stood out to Emma. But then she started to look around, and saw all the quarters that she and her family had stayed in while they were sailing to Neverland. She was going to step in, just for nostalgia's sake. She remembered the last time she'd been in there, with Mary-Margaret trying to get information out of her. She was crying over Neal, she remembered.

She looked down at her swelling stomach and thought about just how much everything had changed.

The rooms were stripped bare when they had left, so she didn't expect to find anything. She was dead wrong, and she knew it the second that she stepped through the door of the room she had slept in.

In the middle of the room, there were two hand-built cribs standing empty. The wood was smooth, and it had better workmanship than professional ones she had seen. She stared at them in shock, a small smile on her face. Her pirate had made these with his _one _hand. Emma could barely hammer in a nail with both hands, let alone make something like these. She looked at the base of the cribs, which had little carvings in them of ocean waves, and a ship that sailed across them.

"Do you like it?" Emma heard Killian ask behind her.

"What do you think?" She asked, and turned to face him. "How did you even do this? I can barely make a smoothie!"

"With a lot of patience, love." He said.

"These kids will only have the best." Emma said to herself, but Killian heard.

"Cribs?" He asked.

"_Parents_." Emma clarified.

**A/N: See, see! Isn't it cute? The last line is my favorite, usually like always. What was your favorite part? Tell me in reviews! **


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